The Far Right Is Already Here. Now What?

The field of far-right studies has risen to prominence since the 1990s, developing from a marginal academic niche into a significant area of political analysis.This trajectory is best illustrated in Cas Mudde's assessment, as he remembers how during the 1990s the study of the far right was considered secondary at best within academia in general and political science in particular.Today, Mudde argues, hundreds of PhD students and thousands of MA and undergraduate students work on the topic, and there are even some (albeit few) academic positions explicitly seeking expertise in this area.Mudde also notes a shift in academic consensus: while many scholars in the 1990s saw the far right as marginal and destined for the dustbin of history, it is now among the most vibrant political forces globally, electorally and politically successful, and adept at mobilising supporters in new ways. 1 Mudde adeptly captured the main transformations in the field and how the recent context has reshaped the nature of the literature itself.If in the 1990s, scholars had to justify the relevance of studying the far right, today few question the need for robust academic infrastructure to address this phenomenon, given its complex causes, consequences and forms.The five works at the heart of this review exemplify this new stage in far-right studies, one marked by not only thematic expansion but also multidisciplinarity and innovative formats that go beyond the traditional academic article.Podcasts, interactive platforms and collaborative networks now complement books and journal articles, reflecting an effort to adapt to a rapidly changing political and scholarly landscape.The far right is no longer a peripheral subject; it occupies positions of power in many countries, and academics can 1 Cas Mudde, 'From the Margins to the Mainstream: A Personal Reflection on Three Decades of Studying and Teaching