Curd Benjamin Knüpfer

ABSTRACT In this introductory piece to a special issue of the Forum, we explore the inadequacies of the field of political communication in addressing the rising threats posed by illiberalism and the far right. We argue that the discipline’s frameworks, developed within the context of Western liberal democracies, are ill-equipped to tackle the complexities and self-reflexive strategies of contemporary far-right movements and actor types.

?Mathematical formulae have been encoded as MathML and are displayed in this HTML version using MathJax in order to improve their display. Uncheck the box to turn MathJax off. This feature requires Javascript. Click on a formula to zoom. ABSTRACT In many contemporary democracies, digital networks on the far-right have established themselves as “alternatives” to liberal institutions.

Far-right extremism has become disruptive in democratic nations as different as Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia and the United States. Different countries have experienced protests on similar issues, from climate change, abortion, and immigration, to wearing facemasks during the Covid-19 pandemic.