Research Group REXKLIMA
The research group REXKLIMA (Far-right politics versus climate action? Nationalist opposition in a transnational political field) is led by Dr. Manès Weisskircher. REXKLIMA is a research group for early career researchers funded for five years (2023-2027) by Germany's Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Apart from the head of the research group, it comprises a post-doc position, three doctoral positions, and a guest researcher program.
The rise of far-right political parties and the salience of global warming are two of the most relevant contemporary political phenomena. However, in the social sciences they are mostly treated separately. REXKLIMA combines both issues. In Europe, far-right parties often deny the transnational problem of anthropogenic climate change and increasingly mobilize against global warming policies. The burgeoning literature on far-right 'climate skepticism' emphasizes the need for research on the precise stances of far-right parties on concrete climate and energy policy measures, their mobilization strategies in this policy area, and the effects of their 'anti-environmental' activism. The research group will contribute to fill these research gaps. The guiding research question is: How and why do far-right parties mobilize on the issue of climate change? The sub-project 'Far-right ecology: ideology and framing' is based at the Institute of Political Science. The sub-project 'Far-right ecology: mobilization and effects' is based at the Hannah Arendt Institute for Research on Totalitarianism. In addition, the members of REXKLIMA also contribute to other essential questions in research on far-right politics, especially in the fields of party political and social movement studies.
Team:
Dr. Manès Weisskircher, Head of the Research Group
Dr. Manuela Beyer, Postdoctoral Researcher
Zadekia Krondorfer MSc, Researcher
Elisabeth Oertel MA, Researcher
Publications during the funding period:
Contemporary Germany and the Fourth Wave of Far-Right Politics. From the Streets to Parliament (2024, Routledge), edited by Manès Weisskircher.
Austria. “Protecting democracy” in the context of an established far-right Lager – counterprotest against a far-right ball (2024, Civil Democracy Protection. Success Conditions of Non-Governmental Organisations in Comparison), by Manès Weisskircher.
Subnational Politics and Far-Right Strength in Germany. The Importance of the East-West Divide (2023, The Routledge Handbook of Far-Right Extremism in Europe), by Sabine Volk and Manès Weisskircher.
Direct Democracy and the Impact of the Alternative for Germany (AfD)? “Populist” Demand for Popular Sovereignty as Latent Political Conflict (2023, Sovereignty in Conflict. Political, Constitutional and Economic Dilemmas in the EU), by Manès Weisskircher.
Defending democracy against the ‘Corona dictatorship’? Far-right PEGIDA during the COVID-19 pandemic (2023, Social Movement Studies), by Sabine Volk and Manès Weisskircher.
Far-Right PEGIDA. Non-violent Protest and the Blurred Lines Between the Radical and Extreme Right (2023, Routledge Handbook of Non-Violent Extremism), by Sabine Volk und Manès Weisskircher.
Groundwork:
Global warming and polarization. Wind turbines and the electoral success of the greens and the populist radical right (2022, European Journal of Political Research), by Cyrill Otteni and Manès Weisskircher.
AfD gegen die Grünen? Rechtspopulismus und klimapolitische Polarisierung in Deutschland (2022, Forschungsjournal Soziale Bewegungen), by Cyrill Otteni and Manès Weisskircher.
What is the relationship between the far right and environmentalism? (2022, C-REX Compendium), by Iris Beau Segers and Manès Weisskircher.
Selected guest lectures as well as public and media appearances:
TU Dortmund, Conference "Klimaskepsis intersektional? Säkulare und religiöse Narrationen gegen die sozial-ökologische Transformation": Rechtsaußen-Mobilisierung und Klimapolitik" (19.03.24, Lecture by Manuela Beyer)
University of Bielefeld, Conference "Dimensions of Right-Wing Extremism in Europe" at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research: Mobilization against climate action: A new issue for far-right parties? (14.02.2024, Keynote lecture by Manès Weisskircher)
The Nation: The AfD’s Secret Plan to Deport Millions From Germany 23.01.2024, Comments by Manès Weisskircher)
Leuphana University Lüneburg, Tuesday Seminar of the Institute for Political Science: Far-right political parties and street politics (09.01.2024, Lecture by Manès Weisskircher)
TU Dortmund, Forschungsforum Umweltsoziologie und Transformation: The far right versus climate change? Research agenda and first results of the BMBF research group REXKLIMA (12.12.2023, Lecture by Manès Weisskircher)
Deutscher Naturschutzring: An unresolved challenge? AfD mobilization against climate policies (11.12.2023, Lecture by Manès Weisskircher)
Financial Times: Populists seek dividends from a climate change backlash (25.11.2023, Reference to research by Manès Weisskircher)
Table. Media ESG.Table #53: Klimaschutz: AfD will Ausstieg aus dem Ausstieg (25.10.2023, Comments by Manès Weisskircher)
Democracy at 12 o'clock at the permanent representation of Rhineland-Palatinate: The power of words. How much has political discourse radicalized? (20.10.2023, Panel discussion with Manès Weisskircher)
Akademie für Politische Bildung Tutzing: How society deals with the climate crisis. Between protest, civil disobedience, indifference and denial (11.10.2023, Lecture by Manès Weisskircher)
Euronews: A year away from national elections, Austria’s far-right is more popular than ever (06.10.2023, Comments by Manès Weisskircher)
Summer discourse of the University of Vienna: Mobilization against climate policy. A new topic for populist radical right parties? (03.08.2023, Lecture by Manès Weisskircher)
NBC: Spain’s far-right Vox party is on the brink of sharing power as a conservative kingmaker (22.07.2023, Comments by Manès Weisskircher)
Staatsschauspiel Dresden: Wenn es um alles geht. Umweltaktivismus als Feindbild (30.05.2023, Lecture by Manès Weisskircher)
MDR: "Letzte Generation": Wie radikal darf Protest sein? (31.03.2023, Comments by Manès Weisskircher)
Iscte - University Institute of Lisbon: The Far-Right Challenge on the Streets? On the New Interplay between Far-Right Social Movements and ‘Populist’ Radical Right Parties in Europe (24.02.2023, Lecture by Manès Weisskircher)
REXKLIMA guest scholars:
February 2024: Dr. Aron Buzogány, Assistant Professor at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna
January 2024: Dr. Jonathan Olsen, Professor at the Texas Woman's University
December 2023: Dr. Anne Küppers, Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Jena
December 2023: Patrick Irmer, PhD researcher at the University of Leipzig
November 2023: Dr. Julia Leser, Postdoctoral Scholar at the Humboldt University of Berlin
August 2023: Dr. Bernhard Forchtner, Associate Professor at the University of Leicester
REXKLIMA events:
28.02.2024: Lecture "The New Right and Europe. A Transeuropean Ideational History" by Prof. Aron Buzogány
13.02.-15.02.2024: Conference "Dimensions of Right-Wing Extremism in Europe" at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research at Bielefeld University, organized together with C-REX (Center for Research on Extremism) at the University of Oslo, the Conflict Academy (ConflictA) at the Institute for Interdisciplinary Conflict and Violence Research (IKG) at the University of Bielefeld, the Knowledge Network Right-Wing Extremism Research (Wi-REX) in Bielefeld and the Research Focus Right-wing Extremism/Neonazism (FORENA) at the University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf.
16.01.2024: "Double Guest Lecture": "Nature and Nationalism? Far-right politics and the environment" by Prof. Jonathan Olsen and "Conspiracy in the Age of Respiratory Distress: Unearthing the Promise of a Contested Political Mode" by Prof. AK Thompson, organized together with Prof. Moritz Ingwersen
30.11.2023: Lecture "The wolves are coming back: Zur Politik der Angst in Ostdeutschland" by Dr. Julia Leser
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