Changing Working Life and the Appeal of the Extreme Right

This book investigates the interplay of the recent transformation of working life and the growing appeal of political right-wing populism and extremism in Europe. It explores the individual and collective reactions and the strategies people develop in order to come to terms with socio-economic change. It raises the question of whether, and to what extent, changes in the employment system and in working life contribute to making people receptive to xenophobia, nationalism and racism. Based on an eight country study using both quantitative and qualitative research methods, this volume makes a significant contribution to the deeper understanding of the subjective reactions to socio-economic change and its political reverberations.

Jörg Flecker is Director of the Forschungs- und Beratungsstelle Arbeitswelt (FORBA) in Vienna and external Professor of Economic Sociology at the University of Vienna. His main fields of research are work organization, flexibility, new technology and internationalization. He was the co-ordinator of the European project 'Socio-economic change, individual reactions and the appeal of the extreme right' (SIREN) and currently co-ordinates the qualitative research within 'Work Organization and Restructuring in the Knowledge Society' (WORKS), an 'Integrated Project' in the EC's 6th Framework Programme.

Introduction Changing Working Life and the Appeal of the Extreme Right: A Variety of Approaches, Jórg Flecker; Part 1 Changing Working Life and the Appeal of the Extreme Right in Europe; Chapter 1 Addressing the Link between Socio-Economic Change and Right-Wing Populism and Extremism: A Critical Review of the European Literature, Francesca Poglia Mileti, Fabrice Plomb; Chapter 2 Potentials of Political Subjectivity and the Various Approaches to the Extreme Right: Findings of the Qualitative Research 1 This chapter was presented at the 15th Conference of Europeanists, Chicago, March 30 - April 2, 2006. We would like to thank Prof. Dr. Andrei Markovits (The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor) - discussant of the panel - for his helpful comments, stimulating suggestions and motivation., Jörg Flecker, Gudrun Hentges, Gabrielle Balazs; Chapter 3 Perceived Socio-Economic Change and Right-Wing Extremism: Results of the Siren-Survey among European Workers, Yves De Weerdt, Patrizia Catellani, Hans De Witte, Patrizia Milesi; Part 2 National Varieties of Attraction; Chapter 4 Variants of Right-Wing Populist Attraction in Austria, Jörg Flecker, Sabine Kirschenhofer, Manfred Krenn, Ulrike Papouschek; Chapter 5 Two Psychological Routes to Right-Wing Extremism: How Italian Workers Cope with Change, Patrizia Catellani, Patrizia Milesi; Chapter 6 Public Safety - Private Right: The Public-Private Divide and Receptiveness of Employees to Right-Wing Extremism in Flanders (Belgium), Yves De Weerdt, Hans De Witte; Chapter 7 The Welfare State Under Pressure: The Danish Case, Eva Thoft, Edvin Grinderslev; Chapter 8 Widespread Competition and Political Conversions, Gabrielle Balazs, Jean-Pierre Faguer, Pierre Rimbert; Chapter 9 Changes in the Work Environment and Germany's Extreme Right, Gudrun Hentges, Malte Meyer; Chapter 10 Different Roads to the Siren Songs of the Extreme Right in Hungary, András Tóth, István Grajczjar; Chapter 11 Individual Expressions of Right-Wing Extremism - Understanding the Affinity to Radical Populism in Observing the Changes in the Work Field: The Case of Switzerland, Fabrice Plomb, Francesca Poglia Mileti; Chapter 12 Conclusions and Policy Implications, Jörg Flecker;