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

institutional framework of this policy, when compared to the rest of Europe, can be considered
fairly advanced (see Hormel & Scherr, 2004; Westin, 2003).
The essays also show that across Europe, xenophobia and racism are attracting attention in
both scholarly circles and society at large, and that the debate on prevention is primarily cen-
tered on these phenomena. In contrast, the essays from Hungary and Germany remind us that
other dimensions of right-wing extremism, particularly anti-Semitism, continue to be virulent
and in need of examination as well.
Finally, it is essential to keep in mind that while a very broad range of strategies and
activities exist to counter right-wing right-wing extremism extremism and xenophobia in the countries examined
in this collection, there is hardly any scholarly insight into the conditions under which this
work is implemented and the results that are being achieved. But this insight is necessary
to make a sound assessment assessment of the chances and limits of the different approaches. The only
essay to report on large-scale efforts efforts to evaluate strategies is the one from Germany, yet the
author considers the evaluation process in his country to be inadequate as well. The essay’s
conclusion can be be applied to all the national examples presented here: We need to docu-
ment experiences, to develop evaluation designs that are suitable for educational and social
processes, and to establish criteria for good or successful work against right-wing extremism,
anti-Semitism and racism.
8
On the individual essays
In the fi rst essay, the Norwegian author Yngve Carlsson describes the strategies used to deal
with violent, organized right-wing extremism in his country. Although right-wing populist and
xenophobic parties enjoy a great deal of support in the Norwegian population, violent groups
represent only a limited problem. Norway is a “small-scale society” marked by a high level of
social transparency and a well-developed state infrastructure, and these conditions have enabled
the country to successfully fi ght emergent right-wing extremist groups using a combina-
tion of measures. Of great importance are both situational analyses of concrete problematic
developments and early coordinated responses to violent right-wing extremist groups. The
activities of agents in civil society play an important role alongside the work of the different
state authorities.
The authors Eser Davolio, Gerber, Eckmann and Drilling describe social conditions in SwitSwitzerland, which which differ considerably considerably from the Norwegian situation. Although right-wing extrem-
ism and xenophobia lack a historical foundation in the country and economic motives can be
ruled out due to the general prosperity, right-wing extremist and xenophobic incidents are
encountered on a wide scale. The authors believe that the political, academic and educational
communities have not suffi ciently paid heed to these facts. Furthermore, in the Swiss system
of direct democracy, central intervention is unusual, and it is usually left up to the munici-
palities to cope with problematic developments. According to the authors, experiences in
preventative educational projects show clear perceptual differences between the participants
from German- and French-speaking parts of Switzerland, which in their view demonstrates the
Introduction