Thick Europe, ontological security and parochial Europe: the re-emergence of far-right extremism and terrorism after the refugee crisis of 2015

Abstract

This article examines the re-emergence of far-right extremism and terrorism as the adversary of European integration. The European Union (EU) becoming a grievance factor for far-right extremism and terror is qualitatively new. This article examines the emergence of this new actor in line with the changing four faces of the EU presented in this special issue, namely thin, thick, parochial and global. Paradoxically, the core argument of this article is that moves towards thick Europe have contributed to this development by way of addressing core fears in Europe after the migration/refugee crisis in 2015. The chronological discourse of the construction of the EU's identity has showed that since 2014, there has been a major shift regarding Europeans' fears and anxieties. (In)security linked to the migration/refugee crisis has been widening the market for security, despite the contrasting fact that Europe has been thriving for the longest peace period since WWII. This article analyses the impacts of the refugee crisis on the mutation of the European perception of threats. It uses the concept of ontological security to understand how the anxiety and fear caused by the refugee crisis led to the shaping of the European self-identity crisis.

COVID-19 and Vaccination Campaigns as “Western Plots” in Pakistan: Government Policies, (Geo-)politics, Local Perceptions, and Beliefs

“…These people think that the purpose of this "plot" is to sterilize Muslim women to control the population, as they believe that the "West" fears an increasing Muslim population (Ali, 2020a,b). They are not wrong in making that assumption-as evidenced by the protests in Europe against Brown and Muslim immigration, the tendency of white Americans to suspect that all Muslims may be "terrorists, " and of white people in general to consider themselves "superior" to all Others (Kaunert et al, 2015). This "superiority complex, " rooted in colonization and imperialism, both invokes white dominance and makes the "Others" to feel inferior and degraded, provoking (often invisible) resistance.…”

Progressive-left security and conservative-right distance - How democracy can save itself from populism

“…In a rational world, there would be no reason not to abolish borders. However, at the latest since the significant increase in migration to Europe in 2015/2016, it has become clear that immigration has been experienced by many as a loss of control and as ontological uncertainty (Gazit, 2018;Kaunert et al, 2022). State borders apparently not only have a formal control function, they also have a symbolic function that can be identity-forming for some people (Cervi & Tejedor, 2022).…”

The Manosphere as an Online Protection Racket: How the Red Pill Monetizes Male Need for Security in Modern Society

“…As we have noted, beyond IR and Sociology, there has been something of a recent renewed interest in ontological security theory in the Social Sciences more generally. Curiously, despite clear potential applications, the theory has only been used in limited instances to explore issues around political extremism, movements, and ideas (Agius, Rosamond, & Kinnvall, 2020;Kaunert, de Deus Pereira, & Edwards, 2020;Morein, 2020;Rich, 2021). In particular, little attention has been paid to how individuals or groups (like content producers in the Manosphere) might deliberately proliferate, instill, and exploit such ontological insecurity in target audiences towards specific cynical ends.…”