Defending Democracy in the European Parliament: An Institutional Drama

The rise of the far right in the European Parliament and the institutional pushback it provokedIn recent years, far-right political parties have grown in influence not only in the domestic politics of such countries as Hungary, Brazil, and the United States but also in international institutions ranging from the United Nations Human Rights Council to the European Union.Have these international platforms contributed to the rise of the far right in liberal democracies?In this book, Christin Tonne examines the far right’s role in the European Parliament and the institution’s response.Tonne, a former aide to a member of the European Parliament, provides a rare insider’s view of the far right’s ascent in that organization.Drawing on three years of ethnographic research-observations and interactions in corridors, meetings, and plenary sessions-she traces how the far right seamlessly integrated into EU politics, often with the support of mainstream political parties. Tonne argues that many of