The Normalisation of Neo-Fascism: Anti-Roma Racism at the Heart of Europe's Far-Right Surge
27 August 2026
Academic discussions about the inexorable rise of the far-right in Europe routinely overlook the extent to which anti-Roma racism is integral, and not incidental, to the mobilisation of aggrieved and resentful constituencies, particularly in eastern and central Europe, and the extent to which Romani communities function as an all-purpose scapegoat for the perceived ills of society. A review of anti-Roma racism by state and non-state actors over the past eighteen months, shows that there has been no diminution of one of Europe's oldest hatreds, and serves as yet another reminder that the far-right presents a very real threat to the safety, security and dignity of Roma in Europe.
The defeat of the Orbán regime in Hungary's April 2026 elections, and the landslide victory of Péter Magyar and his Tisza party, dashed the illusion of the invincibility and inevitability of hybrid-authoritarian rule in an illiberal democracy. Jubilation on the streets of Budapest prompted many to speculate about a wider waning of the fortunes of the far-right in Europe. However, when it comes to democratic optimism, a little due diligence and caution is in order before jumping to big conclusions about the supposed decline of the far-right. As Cas Mudde put it, while the far-right has lost its unofficial leader, it is not in decline:
"The far right is here to stay, and many of its parties are as established as the (former) 'mainstream' parties. And, like other parties, their electoral support fluctuates and is affected by internal and external factors, such as corruption, infighting and crises in government. More importantly, the mainstreaming and normalisation of far-right actors and ideas continue unabated."
As mainstream politicians have appropriated many far-right themes, measures once advocated only by those on the political fringe have become policy. Former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán famously crowed in a 'doorstep statement' before a meeting of the European Council, "The positions which were once condemned, despised, looked down upon and treated with contempt are becoming jointly held positions." And until April 2026, it was all too often Hungary that provided the most disturbing examples of the mainstreaming and normalization of far-right ideas, not least anti-Roma racism. While the extremist MPs from Mi Hazánk, campaigned on a mish-mash of conspiracy theories, homophobia, vigilantism and explicit racism, it was the ruling Fidesz party that actually delivered on far-right policy.
Orbán – much enamoured with Renaud Camus's Great Replacement theory, and unabashedly overt in his declared contempt for 'mixed-race Europe' – made his conjoined nativism and hostility to Roma explicit when he declared that:
"It cannot happen that in order for a minority to feel at home, the majority must feel like strangers in their own towns, villages, or homeland. This is not acceptable. And as long as I am the prime minister, nothing of the sort will happen. Because this is the country of the natives, our country..."
As Kenan Malik stated, "arguments that once were the staple of the political fringe now nestle at the heart of mainstream debate." For nativist parties there's always new reasons to be racist, new grievances to be nurtured, and new opportunities to incite mass outbreaks of racially-motivated violence with virtually instantaneous speed.
In the USA, the politics of unreason has taken centre-stage with the current administration's sustained assault on political, civic, and legal efforts to promote racial justice; President Trump's consistent use of inflammatory racist rhetoric; and his transparent pursuit of a white supremacist agenda rooted in racial grievance. This contagion has emboldened the far-right across Europe, where the very notion of inclusion and equity is repudiated by right-wing parties in government and opposition.
As the political centre of gravity lurches rightwards, and novel manifestations of fascism continue to gain ground, the defence of the social and civil rights of Roma and other racialised communities cannot be up for barter on the promise that 'smart inclusion' of Roma will deliver economic returns in a future 'Europe of prosperity and growth'. The political lines have been drawn, and the crusading intent of the far-right is clear. In the face of imminent barbarism, the starting point of resistance must be that human rights are universal, inalienable and indivisible.
Understanding the nature of this threat requires definitional clarity. The term far right encompasses a multitude of individuals, parties and movements, and according to Hope not Hate, this range makes it necessary to make a distinction between the radical and the extremist variants of the far right. For its part, the radical right accepts the fundamental 'rules of the game' vis-à-vis electoral democracy, but rejects much of the liberal content of democracy, such as minority rights, the rule of law, and the separation of powers – a politics of resentment encapsulated by the former British home secretary Suella Braverman's wail that "The Britain that I love is being ripped apart by diversity, equality and inclusion." The extreme right differs in that it fundamentally rejects democratic principles, and includes among its numbers neo-Nazis and fascists who either condone, advocate or perpetrate violence, even acts of terrorism.
In response to the oft-posed question whether or not we witnessing the return of fascism, Daniel Trilling insists that today's massive street mobilisations of extremists and ballot box successes for the far-right do not amount to a rerun of the catastrophic mid-20th century. He says that today's far-right "has a life and momentum of its own, and must be seen as unique to our time. Recognising that is essential if we are to understand its causes, its weaknesses and the specific way it threatens our freedom." One crucial overlap Trilling identifies between the fascism of interwar Europe and today's far-right, is the emotive exhortation: purify your nation, and reclaim your pride, security and success by attacking enemies of the nation.
Foregrounding the role of emotions in politics, Richard Seymour argues that for those who are miserable, insecure and humiliated, the far-right offers a specific remedy in what he terms disaster nationalism: "It offers the balm, not just of vengeance, but of a sort of violent reset which restores the traditional consolations of family, race, religion and nationhood, including the chance to humiliate others." For Seymour, the endgame is to channel the resentments of a population into a "revolt against liberal civilization." He describes it as "a thin, networked civil society base whose energies are wrapped around culture wars that occasionally explode into the meatspace violence of lone-wolf murderers, vigilantes, riots, pogroms, and pseudo-insurrections." Its elected leaders direct their aggression not at electoral democracy, but at the liberal state, and their aim "is to effect a constitutional rupture that tilts the balance of rule toward authoritarian democracy rather than outright dictatorship."
The common thread uniting the far-right the world over is, according to Seymour, the claim that their nation is under dire threat and disaster is imminent: "this peril is caused by specific national enemies who can be named, blamed and punished." The particular scapegoats vary according to context, but share a common logic: "The national peril is always the fault of a dangerous underclass, combined with the actions of a treacherous elite."
As the following articles in this series will show, it is not difficult to see how such energies and resentments, combined with "the chance to humiliate others," have animated anti-Roma racism across Europe, from courtrooms in Strasbourg to burning streets in Ballymena.
This article is part of the ‘Mainstreaming Hate’ series, adapted exclusively from "The State of Hate: Antigypsyism & the Far-Right in Europe," a section of the Roma Rights Review: Summer 2026, published by the Roma Rights Network and the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC). It is the first of a five-part series drawing on the Review's documentation of anti-Roma racism by state and non-state actors across Europe. The full Roma Rights Review is available here. Next in the series is: "Disaster Nationalism in Action: The European Court’s Landmark Ruling Against Bulgaria."
