Dialogue The Rise of the Radical Right in Europe and the Case of Hungary: ‘Gypsy crime’ defines national identity? KATALIN HALASZ ABSTRACT Katalin Halasz looks at the impact of the profound political, economic and social changes that have swept across Europe. She argues that there is a new wave of racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia that has propped up the extreme and radical right on the margins of politics, but also increasingly in the mainstream. She focuses on the worrying implications of the growing escalation in violence against Roma in South and Central-eastern Europe, and the chilling call for a ‘decisive solution to the Roma problem’ in Hungary, which openly embraces anti-Gypsysm. KEYWORDS xenophobia; racism; anti-semitism; immigration; ethnicity Introduction Profound political, economic and social changes that have swept across Europe in the last decades exacerbated clashes between democratic norms and values and radical right ideologies that flourish on the soil of rapid changes and growing anxieties. Fears of the effects of globalization and social tensions evoked by the awareness of Europe as a continent of migration have paved the way for a new wave of identity politics and scapegoat ideologies. Political formations and social movements have emerged that oppose further modernization, European integration and immigration, and promote the idea of homogeneous nation-states and the rejection of pluralistic democracies. This sentiment is propagating a new wave of contemporary forms of racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia and is often used by the extreme and radical right on the margins of politics but also increasingly in the mainstream and even within government in order to gain popularity and votes. Increasing xenophobia and negative public discourse The proliferation of right-wing political movements, and growing numbers of acts of racist and xenophobic violence against Roma, North Africans, Muslims and Jews (just to name a few) occur in a political environment that employs a utilitarian and Development, 2009, 52(4), (490–494) r 2009 Society for International Development 1011-6370/09 www.sidint.org/development/ Development (2009) 52(4), (490–494). doi:10.1057/dev.2009.63