By Steven Forti, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Within the framework of the ARENAS project, Work Package 3 (WP3), coordinated by Steven Forti from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), deals with the study of the historical roots of extremist narratives and their circulation in the political and media spheres.
The research and activities of WP3 are carried out throughout the four years of the ARENAS project and involve teams from the UAB, the Université Cergy-Paris, the University of Helsinki and the Institute of Contemporary History of Ljubljana.
Task 3.2 of this Work Package studies precisely the historical roots of extremist narratives in nine European countries. On January 25 last, the first session of a cycle of webinars was held. This cycle will continue with biweekly sessions until the end of April. In these session, the researchers participating in this task of the project will present the first results on the study of the historical roots of extremist narratives in the last century.
What are the main extremist narratives existing in the countries studied? When did they originate? How have they been reused over time? Currently, what is new and what remains? Can we find common patterns at the European level? Could we talk about transnational circulation? These are some of the questions to which answers will be offered.
The first session, led by Katalin Miklóssy (UH), focused on the cases of Hungary and Poland. The second session, on the case of Spain, is led by Miguel Ángel Del Río Morillas and Sergi Soler (UAB). Next, there will be sessions on the cases of France, Germany, Finland, Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia.
Once the Webinar cycle is over, the work of task 3.2 will continue with the writing of a report on the historical roots of extremist narratives in Europe and with the holding of an international conference in Barcelona at the end of September 2024.
