The far right does not emerge outside mainstream political culture. Its nationalism, authoritarianism and populism draw on ideas with deep roots in Australian life.

The reasons for the rise of far-right politics are often cited as financial stress, housing shortages and frustration with government.

Yet this doesn’t explain why disillusioned voters are drifting toward the far right instead of the left.

To understand that, we need to look at how far-right ideas actually connect to mainstream Australian values – not treat the far right as some separate, foreign or imported movement.

The common assumption is that far-right politics is fundamentally opposed to democratic values. Or as a kind of ‘sickness’ in an otherwise healthy system.

But political scientist Cas Mudde argues the opposite: “The radical right isn’t a rejection of mainstream values, it’s an extreme version of them.” Meaning this drift to the right has grown out of ideas already normal and accepted, just pushed further.

To see this, it helps to look at the three core ingredients of far-right politics: nationalism, authoritarianism and populism. And ask how much of each already exists in Australian life.

Nationalism: defining who counts as ‘us’

Nationalist language is nothing new in Australian politics.

Phrases like the ’national interest’, ‘Australian values’ and warnings about the ’nation in........

© Pearls and Irritations