EXPLAINING THE RISE OF RACIST AND EXTREME-RIGHT VIOLENCE IN WESTERN-EUROPE - GRIEVANCES OR OPPORTUNITIES

This paper investigates the causes of the recent rise in extreme right and racist violence in Western Europe. In the first part, the availab le data on extreme right and racist violence in eight Western European countries - Germany, France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Switzerl and, Sweden, Denmark and Norway - are discussed. Contrary to the image presented in the media, Germany is no 'Sonderfall' as regards the lev el of violence. Germany belongs to the countries with the highest leve ls of violence, but Switzerland and Great Britain are roughly comparab le in this regard. The second part of the paper attempts to explain cr oss-national differences by applying two theoretical perspectives from the social movement literature. The grievance model, which sees the c auses of violence in grievances related to the main target groups of t he extreme right (foreigners and asylum seekers) and more general feel ings of anomie among the socially marginal, finds little support in th e data. The opportunity model, which emphasizes the role of political elites in shaping mobilization opportunities for social movements, fin ds support in an analysis of the relation between the development of e xtreme right and racist violence and the political debate around asylu m legislation in Germany. Moreover, cross national comparison shows th at the amount of violence also depends on the prior strength of extrem e right and racist parties. Contrary to common wisdom, but in line wit h the expectations derived from the opportunity model, the level of vi olence tends to be low where extreme right and racist parties are stro ng and vice versa.