In the mid-1980s, the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) experienced a meteoric rise at the ballot boxes thanks to the populist style of its leader Jörg Haider. A vast number of publications by academics and journalists alike accompanied this success. The term ‘populist’ was soon appropriated by the FPÖ to escape earlier accusations of extremism. This article examines when, how, and why social scientists and historians engaged with the far right, and the different terms, concepts, and methods they utilized. As such, it outlines the historic development of academic research and debates on authoritarianism right-wing extremism, and populism in Austria from the 1970s to the 1990s. Understanding social science data and studies as historical sources, this article ultimately argues that these can open new perspectives on our current understanding of the far right in the present day.
Beyond this abstract, the publication is in German.
Jeitler, Constanze. “Authoritarian? Right-wing extremist? Populist? Research on the Austrian Far Right in the Social Sciences and History from the 1970s to the 1990s.” zeitgeschichte, vol. 50, no. 4, Vienna UP, 2023.
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