31 Mar 2025
The rise of far-right memory politics
A global perspective
The rise of the far right is a global phenomenon, with anti-democratic parties and authoritarian leaders gaining influence not only in Europe but worldwide. A defining characteristic of far-right politics is a revisionist engagement with the past. By challenging established historiography and remembrance culture, far-right actors promote distorted historical narratives that fuel hate speech, xenophobia, racism, and political polarisation.
The Global Learning Hub for Transitional Justice and Reconciliation has analysed how far-right actors across the globe are engaged in memory politics to legitimise their ideologies, undermine democratic institutions, and fuel division. This policy brief summarises key findings from case studies on Chile, South Africa, South Korea, and Lithuania, offering strategies to counter the far right’s influence.
- Endangered cultural memory. The impact of far-right discourses and practices on human rights related to the dictatorship in Chile
Carolina Aguilera, Manuela Badilla. 2025
- Glorification, whitewashing, erasure. The populist challenge to dealing with the past in Lithuania
Violeta Davoliūtė. 2025
- Between nostalgia and apocalypse. White nationalist remembrance of the past and fear of the future in post-apartheid South Africa
Malose Langa, Peace Kiguwa. 2025
- Rewriting history, undermining democracy. The role of the New Right in South Korean memory politics
Hannes B. Mosler. 2025
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