(New York, N.Y. / Berlin, Germany) – Right-wing extremist groups and networks have been growing substantially in many European countries in recent years, including in Central Europe. Many of these movements espouse new right-wing extremist narratives, have a pro-Russian stance, and reject globalization as well as what they call “western” values. All of these movements reject human equality and try to institutionalize inequality. There are many common elements between the right-wing extremist movements in Czechia and Slovakia, including a close association of these networks with pro-Russian narratives.
Despite similarities, the right-wing extremist scenes in both countries consist of a diverse set of actors, ranging from political parties to paramilitary groups. Consequently, sources of financing are diverse and include campaign funds, crowd funding, and support from foreign governments. This presents a complex set of challenges for countering the threats that these groups pose. The key challenges are the spread of hateful online content and the interconnectivity between different movements on social media, which accelerates and spreads radicalization, especially of a new generation of right-wing extremist groups.
This webinar aims to delve into the specific framework in which right-wing extremist groups operate in Slovakia and Czechia in order to identify common patterns, differences, and most specifically, examine potential approaches that could mitigate the threats that these groups and networks pose to democracy. This event is the final in a two-part series on Central European extreme right-wing movements.
The webinar will be conducted in English via Zoom.
Date: November 15, 2023
Time: 9 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. ET / 15:00 – 16:30 CET
EVENT PROGRAM:
Introductory Remarks and Moderation:
Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler, Senior Director, Counter Extremism Project (CEP)
Speakers:
Juraj Kuruc, Former Research Fellow, GLOBSEC & Senior Researcher, Matej Bel Institute
The Radical Right in Slovakia
Prof. Miroslav Mareš, Security Analyst, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University
The Extreme Right-Wing in Czechia
The presentations will be followed by a Q&A-session open to all participants.
REGISTRATION:
To participate in this webinar please register via this link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4-WjNI-CR1G8y9mbO5A_1Q
Please register up to one hour before the webinar starts so that your registration can be approved in time.
Please feel free to forward this invitation to colleagues with an interest in the subject.