The Dark Side of European Integration: Social Foundations and Cultural Determinants of the Rise of Radical Right Movements in Contemporary Europe by Alina Polyakova

Author:Alina Polyakova [Polyakova, Alina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Far right; radical right; nationalism; european nationalism;
ISBN: 9783838267968
Publisher: ibidem Press
Published: 2016-01-14T05:00:00+00:00

Kalyna’s story demonstrates how the party engaged with volunteer groups and was not just involved in organizing political events, as discussed in the previous section. But Kalyna’s story is also interesting because it shows the broad range of activities—social, cultural, and political—that the party (or its student wing) organizes to recruit young people. Kalyna went on to tell me that the children’s books they read at the orphanages emphasized national Ukrainian traditions and that she saw it as her job to “educate these children about who they are and where they come from,” meaning, to give them a sense of belonging in the Ukrainian nation.

Kalyna and the other young women in her volunteer group also visited the elderly in nursing homes, where they often heard complaints about living conditions. Student Svoboda helped her raise money to buy some basic goods, like favorite foods or new slippers, which were donated to the homes. Of course, these goods and the children’s toys came with Freedom party paraphernalia: t-shirts with the party logo, the party newspaper, party pens, calendars, and many other promotional items. Kalyna’s experience also highlights the gendered role of participation: women in the Student Group tended to participate less in street protests, which have a tendency to turn violent, as Mykola’s experience shows, and instead took part in educational or cultural events such as educating orphaned children about their Ukrainian heritage. The result is that women tend to be less visible and less accessible, but they are still involved in radical right movements in roles that mirror women’s traditional family roles: working with children and the elderly.

As Kalyna’s example demonstrates, cultural and educational events were key recruitment sites because, unlike political rallies, they were not always explicitly affiliated with the party. As Mykola pointed out, many young people came to the events to just have a good time, socialize with friends, and meet new people. The majority were not “politically minded.” For example, in addition to political protests or demonstrations, I attended a wide range of cultural events in L’viv, all either implicitly or explicitly organized by Freedom party activists and leaders. At one such event, a talk by a Ukrainian academic on the etymology of Ukrainian names was held at the one of the major universities in L’viv. Because the lecture took place in the evening and was not part of a course, I was surprised to see a full lecture hall of students in attendance. However, I was more surprised to see a local Freedom party deputy deliver the introduction and a trio of musicians dressed in traditional Ukrainian national clothing play prior to the academic talk. The content of the lecture focused on showing the historical origins of Ukrainian, as opposed to Russian names, and encouraged young people to use their Ukrainian as opposed to Russified first names—an issue that had been widely discussed and criticized in the Ukrainian media.[46] The academic setting obscured the ideological element of the event—nationalist ideas appeared under the guise of scholarly objectivity.

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