Authoritarianism is resurging across Europe. Recent years have seen the normalisation of voting for far-right, neo- or post-fascist parties. In some countries, far-right parties partner in governing coalitions (Finland, Croatia, Switzerland) or provide parliamentary support to governments (Sweden). Elsewhere, they have beaten centre-right parties in recent elections (Austria) or even lead national governments (the Netherlands, Italy, Hungary). Where they are not (yet) part of government coalitions, they have become major opposition forces (France, Germany). The support of autocratic super powers, such as Russia and, more recently, the USA, has further increased the weight of these parties in European politics.

Centrist parties often react by adopting far-right talking points, narratives, and frames – particularly anti-migrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric – further accommodating and normalising the far-right agenda. This mainstreaming of far-right politics is already re-shaping policy-making across Europe. At both national and European Union levels, severe restrictions on the right to asylum have been put in place, external borders are increasingly sealed, and there is a greater emphasis on security policy and armament. At the same time, environmental policies and climate action are being sidelined. The serious backlash in social politics has put the rights of women and LGBTIQ+ people at risk.

Far-right activities in Europe and the mainstreaming of fascist ideology also go far beyond the formal electoral sphere. They include terrorism, rising racist violence against minorities and physical attacks on political opponents. Germany, Greece, Finland, Sweden and the UK are the European countries that have experienced the most far-right violence in recent years. Grassroots protest mobilisation by far-right collective actors and other forms of right-wing counter-cultural activism – online and offline – have gained ground in many European countries. As a result of these developments, insidious forms of fascism are creeping into everyday life, manifesting themselves in a growing desire for authoritarianism and intolerance towards difference.

Fascism is, of course, not a new phenomenon in Europe. However, contemporary far-right and neo-/post-fascist movements and ideologies, discourses and imaginaries, and political strategies and tactics have evolved and adapted to new political, social and cultural contexts and may differ to a significant extent from historical fascism. In this theme issue, we invite contributions to reflect on the evolution, development and change of the European resurgence of authoritarian politics, expressions of fascism and the far-right from a geographical perspective. As a multilingual journal, we seek to instigate a debate about this resurgence across national contexts that brings different geographical traditions and languages in a productive dialogue.