Historical legacies and the radical right in post-cold war Central and Eastern Europe

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The transformation process in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) post-1989 is often framed through historical and geographical lenses, described as a 'return of history' or a 'return to Europe.' The radical right plays a significant role in this narrative. Research highlights concerns regarding historical analogies and legacies, drawing parallels between the post-1989 radical right and interwar fascism, suggesting a 'Weimarization' of these countries and a resurgence of ultranationalist or fascist ideologies. Another perspective notes that as CEE party systems increasingly mirror those of Western Europe, the radical right also aligns with this trend, particularly where it finds electoral success. A third viewpoint posits that the radical right in CEE is uniquely shaped by the historical influences of state socialism and the transformation process, resulting in a more extreme and anti-democratic ideology compared to Western counterparts, and functioning more as a movement than a traditional party. This work explores how historical forces shape the contemporary radical right in CEE, conceptualizing 'legacies' as both contextual factors influencing new movements and as ideological remnants from the past that the radical right seeks to revive and reinterpret. An introductory essay by Michael Minkenberg situates the discussion within a broader research framework, while various contributions examine legacies from both contextual and t