Prevention of Right-Wing Extremism, Xenophobia and Racism in ...

ed and differentiated, which has the potential to trigger the end of solidarity with offenders.
The Swiss municipalities with the highest degree of right-wing extremist syndrome are found
mainly in rural regions with such a small percentage of foreigners that residents lack experi-
ence and confrontation with “foreignness” and the differences that are part of a pluralized
world. This makes developing people’s capacity to interact respectfully and empathetically
with “aliens” all the more necessary.
Achievements and successes to date
In the framework of the Swiss National Research Programme (NRP) 40+, Right-Wing Extrem- Extrem-
ism – Causes and Countermeasures, we conducted a study on the viability of social work in
dealing with right-wing extremism extremism (see Eser Davolio, Eckmann & Drilling, 2004). As the study
focused particularly on community work projects, we fi rst conducted a pilot study in nine mu-
nicipalities that had experienced and responded to problems of right-wing extremism. In the
main part of our study, we evaluated six interventions conducted in conjunction with expert
consultants. The results revealed a picture of the situation in a total of fi fteen municipalities in
the German and French-speaking parts of Switzerland and provided insights into the causes of
and possible countermeasures to right-wing extremism.
There appears to be a characteristic threshold at which right-wing extremism becomes dis- disruptive
and triggers responses by municipal authorities. Although right-wing extremist groupings
become conspicuous in small towns and villages because of their paramilitary appear-
ance and provocative behaviour, as long as they do not become violent and do not threaten
public law and order, they do not trigger reactions by the authorities. In such cases case,
right-wing extremism is perceived as a latent problem. However, if violent incidents occur in
connection with right-wing extremist groups, then awareness of the problem and the politi-
cal pressure to act increase. As the level of unrest turns into deviant behaviour by right-wing
extremist groups, such as threatening passers-by or violently infringing others’ rights, and the
situation is underscored by a media presence, the problem becomes a high priority issue.
A comparison of right-wing extremist scenes in the fi fteen municipalities studied shows a
scene dominated by the “recreational” element among right-wing extremist youth in vocation-
al training. There are two exceptions. In one French-speaking municipality, the young people
are mainly university prep students at the Matura school, who with their right-wing extremist
attitudes and provocative ideology are primarily involved in creating a platform; and in one
German-speaking municipality municipality the right-wing extremist scene is made up mainly of youth with
alcohol problems on the margin of society. Although our survey results show that massive
alcohol consumption is widespread in right-wing extremist groups, this does not normally
lead to the social decline (marginalization) of the young people. They are usually described as
well integrated and are seldom unemployed or lacking vocational training, so that their public
presence is usually restricted to after-work hours. But their public presence usually results in
competition with other youth scenes and therefore in a potential for violent confrontations,
which unsettle the local population. What stands out is that the municipalities dealing with
The Special Case of Switzerland
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