Concerning support for neo-fascist groups grows in the global financial crisis.

Indeed for some the idea of something akin to Nazi Germany ever rising again may seem ridiculous. Undermining that very real possibility is a frightening mistake. In capitalism’s last great crisis, The Great Depression, we saw the rise of many populist, nationalist groups all across the globe. Today in the modern crisis it’s no different. Nazi Germany was born out of a nation in financial crisis; using “Volkism” (populism), placing the blame on outsiders, and appealing to Freikorps (disenchanted paramilitary groups) to gain power. These are 5 groups that have spawned or rose to prominence in the recent years worth being aware of.

1. American Freedom Party



The American Freedom Party is a third positionist (revolutionary nationalism that claims to oppose both capitalism and communism), white supremacist, conservative political party that formed in 2010 in opposition to the financial crisis. They are firmly against immigration. They claim to support the labour rights of the American working class, but are against labour unions. While there isn’t strong information on their numbers, their candidate for President in 2012, Merlin Miller, scored 2,703 votes.

2. British National Party



While the BNP is nothing new, existing in Britain since 1982, it has shown a considerable rise in power in the financial crisis. The BNP is a far-right party officially committed to fascism, right-wing populism, white nationalism, and Euroscepticism (criticism of the European Union). It has a history of violence and is officially condemned by Human Rights Watch. In the 2010 general election it had around 4,200 members, 339 candidates, and received 563,743 total votes. This is a sharp increase from 2005 where it only had 117 candidates and received 192,746 total votes.

3. English Defense League



Formed in 2009, the English Defense League is a street protest movement in the UK against perceived spread of Islam. Civil rights group Hope Not Hate considers the EDL the “largest right-wing threat in the UK today.” The group is estimated to have around 30,000 members. They have a large history of violence against immigrants. They have attacked mosques, sent death-threats to journalists, and engaged in football hooliganism. They often clash with UK anti-fascist groups such as United Against Fascism (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFlxT9NMKUQ).

4. New Resistance



New Resistance is a currently forming group in the United States. It claims to be a new ideology called "Fourth Theory", based off the writings of fascist philosopher Aleksandr Dugin. Started by a former leader in the neo-nazi group American Front, it mixes left-wing anti-capitalist ideology with racist separatism and nationalism. There is no data yet on their numbers, but a manifesto floats online on their website openrevolt.info. It currently has around 122,000 hits. They use populism to appeal to those who feel disaffected by capitalism, yet call for racial segregation and separatism. Hard to define, it seems to be a case of the fascist virus attempting to mutate itself and the effects are yet to be seen.

5. Golden Dawn



The Golden Dawn is an ultra-nationalist group from Greece. It is the largest of all parties in the third positionist, anti-communist European National Front. It has 18 members recently elected to parliament, received 426,025 total votes in the last election, and is alleged to receive much support from Greek police. They have been known to attack immigrants so frequently and with such little police resistance that motorcades of anarchists have begun to patrol the streets in communities affected by Golden Dawn violence (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGrW_ZTHPNY). It has recently established an office in New York city to reach out to the Greek community there.