The authors in the article reveal the positioning of extreme right political parties in the Western world and Central and Eastern Europe by following such ideological basis as nationalism and welfare chauvinism, practically rejecting immigrants and their willingness to use the benefits and services of the mentioned welfare systems in the presented Western as well as Central and Eastern European countries. The authors maintain their position, applying the secondary data from European Social Survey, International Monetary Fund and OECD data as well as interpretations of the authors from different foreign countries. In the end of the article the authors pose the one of the most interesting scientific and practical questions – why the place of the electorate of the "socially excluded" and having low income voters is moving from the left political parties to the side of the extreme right political parties? The further research is necessary in the following direction. This article is the first article of the theme on social chauvinism in Lithuania.
The authors in the article reveal the positioning of extreme right political parties in the Western world and Central and Eastern Europe by following such ideological basis as nationalism and welfare chauvinism, practically rejecting immigrants and their willingness to use the benefits and services of the mentioned welfare systems in the presented Western as well as Central and Eastern European countries. The authors maintain their position, applying the secondary data from European Social Survey, International Monetary Fund and OECD data as well as interpretations of the authors from different foreign countries. In the end of the article the authors pose the one of the most interesting scientific and practical questions – why the place of the electorate of the "socially excluded" and having low income voters is moving from the left political parties to the side of the extreme right political parties? The further research is necessary in the following direction. This article is the first article of the theme on social chauvinism in Lithuania.
Radical Right parties are not a new subject for research scientists. Analysis of such parties" successful or unsuccessful performance in political arena during the last decades raises a lot of unanswered questions among political scientists. One of the main concerns is to indicate what the causes for Radical Right parties" growth are. Answers to such dilemmas are hidden in separate state cases, because to explain such a phenomenon as the growth of Radical Right parties is more like a complex study and in different states it may vary. Ordinary explanations, such as: disappointment of the current government, increased flow of immigrants, - are not necessarily common components which can explain the causation even in similar states. In this thesis the case of Italy is analyzed by answering how the Radical Right parties gain more and more importance in governing the country and how it is supported by the populism these parties use in their rhetoric. The government of Italy has been formed in 2018 from populists "Five Stars Movement" (Cinque Stelle) and anti-immigrant party "Northern League" (Lega Nord) which is building an evident confrontation with the EU institutions and Italy"s ruling class. Both, Radical Right position and populist rhetoric are counted as harmful elements for further democratic and political processes. What is more, it is a threat for the stability and security of the EU. Being the third economy in the EU, Italy could misbalance all the union, by choosing the wrong path towards instability zone. The aim of this thesis is to analyze the case of Italy by answering in what ways and depending on what circumstances the right wing in gaining more power and how populism is supporting it. In order to explain it, the main focus is put on the economical globalization, which is used as theoretical background. The thesis analyzes how neoliberalism intensifies instability and insecurity. The failure of the Welfare State is also a substantial factor in explaining the rise of Radical Right. Such context is understood as a favorable setting for analyzed parties. The spectrum of political right and left is also explained in this work: what are the differences between these two parts, how both wings emerge and act, and how the blurring distinguishing line between left and right causes the rise of Radical Right populist parties. This works also reveals the concept of Radical Right, focusing on previous research works in political science. A considerable notice is also marked on the phenomenon of populism. A clear access and conception of Radical Right and populism is based on the interpretation of the pathology of democracy. The complex link between the Radical Right flange, populism and stable democratic state is analyzed. Before analyzing a particular case, the criteria for defining the characteristics of Radical Right parties and populism dispersion are described. An individual research model is created, which marks most common characteristics of radical right found in scientific literature. Analysis is conducted by answering how such parties use populism and what are the circumstances and specific conditions which determine the successful performance of radical right wing. Eventually, the negative impact is evaluated. In the study case descriptive and content analyses methods are being used. In conclusion, main questions of the analysis are answered. Research shows, which ideologies of Radical Right are the most significant in explaining the growth of Radical Right parties in Italy. The most significant expressions of populism are also picked out, in the case of Italy.
Radical Right parties are not a new subject for research scientists. Analysis of such parties" successful or unsuccessful performance in political arena during the last decades raises a lot of unanswered questions among political scientists. One of the main concerns is to indicate what the causes for Radical Right parties" growth are. Answers to such dilemmas are hidden in separate state cases, because to explain such a phenomenon as the growth of Radical Right parties is more like a complex study and in different states it may vary. Ordinary explanations, such as: disappointment of the current government, increased flow of immigrants, - are not necessarily common components which can explain the causation even in similar states. In this thesis the case of Italy is analyzed by answering how the Radical Right parties gain more and more importance in governing the country and how it is supported by the populism these parties use in their rhetoric. The government of Italy has been formed in 2018 from populists "Five Stars Movement" (Cinque Stelle) and anti-immigrant party "Northern League" (Lega Nord) which is building an evident confrontation with the EU institutions and Italy"s ruling class. Both, Radical Right position and populist rhetoric are counted as harmful elements for further democratic and political processes. What is more, it is a threat for the stability and security of the EU. Being the third economy in the EU, Italy could misbalance all the union, by choosing the wrong path towards instability zone. The aim of this thesis is to analyze the case of Italy by answering in what ways and depending on what circumstances the right wing in gaining more power and how populism is supporting it. In order to explain it, the main focus is put on the economical globalization, which is used as theoretical background. The thesis analyzes how neoliberalism intensifies instability and insecurity. The failure of the Welfare State is also a substantial factor in explaining the rise of Radical Right. Such context is understood as a favorable setting for analyzed parties. The spectrum of political right and left is also explained in this work: what are the differences between these two parts, how both wings emerge and act, and how the blurring distinguishing line between left and right causes the rise of Radical Right populist parties. This works also reveals the concept of Radical Right, focusing on previous research works in political science. A considerable notice is also marked on the phenomenon of populism. A clear access and conception of Radical Right and populism is based on the interpretation of the pathology of democracy. The complex link between the Radical Right flange, populism and stable democratic state is analyzed. Before analyzing a particular case, the criteria for defining the characteristics of Radical Right parties and populism dispersion are described. An individual research model is created, which marks most common characteristics of radical right found in scientific literature. Analysis is conducted by answering how such parties use populism and what are the circumstances and specific conditions which determine the successful performance of radical right wing. Eventually, the negative impact is evaluated. In the study case descriptive and content analyses methods are being used. In conclusion, main questions of the analysis are answered. Research shows, which ideologies of Radical Right are the most significant in explaining the growth of Radical Right parties in Italy. The most significant expressions of populism are also picked out, in the case of Italy.
The skinhead subculture is a global phenomenon – like many other youth subcultures. Thus, the research question arises – which features of a skinhead's identity emerge in the local environment of the Lithuanian society, and in which manner? Is the identity of a Lithuanian skinhead exceptional? The aim of the research was to reveal the peculiarities of right-wing skinheads' identity, the motivation for choosing such identity, and the character of skinheads' social activity. The work is based on empirical material collected during 2004–2013. The methods included an in-depth interview, a questionnaire survey, an integrated observation, and collecting visual material (photo and video) revealing the expressions of the subculture. The visual material presented in skinheads' Facebook accounts was analyzed. The study was conducted by applying the induction technique where issues and individual and group aspects of identity and behavior characteristic of the skinheads were obtained from the available data. The study showed that the ideas characteristic of Lithuanian right-wing skinhead ideology are patriotism, nationalism, racial nationalism, as well as racism and neo-Nazism. Masculine values – strength, courage, fortitude and physical resilience, and ability to defend one's ideas with force – occupy an important position on the list of skinheads' values. In addition to characteristic internationally used elements, Lithuanian skinheads' subcultural style is complemented with local – national – elements. The combination of all three features of identity – ideology, masculine values, and the skinhead style – defines a person as a member of the right-wing skinhead subculture. It has been noted that a person's identity changes and acquires new features when the person communicates with members of other subculture groups (reenactors, metalheads, football fans, or bikers) and joins their activity. The analysis of how individuals joined the right-wing skinhead activity revealed that the majority of the respondents had already formed ideas similar to those characteristic of this subculture. The respondents mostly associated the formation of such ideas with patriotic upbringing in the family, stories from family members about repressions of the Soviets against their relatives, events at the time of the National Liberation Movement (Sąjūdis), family members' hostility towards foreigners, and conflicts with ethnic minorities. The analysis of the activity level of right-wing skinhead groups showed that this level may change depending on the social environment; in total, three levels of activity were identified: inactive (dormant), active (parties, entertainment), and highly active (extremist).
One of the brand new areas of historiography is analyzed. Availing of the research of historical conscience launched in Germany, the author explores the possibility of applying this new practice to the analysis of Lithuanians' historical conscience. The perspectives, theoretical-methodological objectives & tasks are analyzed. Special attention is drawn to the ideological aspect of a historical conscience & to the problem of "left" & "right" in the Lithuanians' mass conscience during the last decade. A relationship between the "left" & "right" identity & a specific version of the past being defended, an attempt by Lithuania's politicians to manipulate the historical perspectives, a tendency toward mythologization as evident in Lithuania's contemporary historical conscience is emphasized. Adapted from the source document.
Parliamentary Discourse Analysis: Expression of Power and Solidarity. The aim of this MA thesis is to analize the expression of power and solidarity in political discourse, mainly in speeches produced by left-wing and right-wing members of Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania. The main objective of this paper is to examine how solidarity and power is expressed with the use of modal verbs. After analyzing transcripts of political speeches produced by members of left-wing and right-wing parties in respect of the usage of modal verbs next to the second person pronoun you, an attempt to answer the following questions was made: what and to what extent dominates right-wing and left-wing parliament members political discourse – power or solidarity; can we notice a pattern in choosing the linguistic devices to express power and solidarity; how right-wing and left-wing political discourse differs in terms of expressing solidarity and power. The material for this study consists of two corpora compiled by the author of this paper and is based on political speeches from 2008–2013 delivered by the members of Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania. Total amount of words from right-wing politicians: 1 987 043, total amount of words from left-wing politicians: 1 309 784. Both qualitative and quantitative methods while analysing the data were applied. Given the results of the study, the following conclusions can be drawn. It was noticed that to each other both right-wing and left-wing politicians tend to use significantly more power expressions instead of solidarity expressions. Power is expressed with the help of typical narrative techniques of high and low modality verbs and context become significant while determining which verb is used in which context – power or solidarity. The power is usually expressed with modal verbs and a set of fixed expressions that carry negative or humiliating effect, directives or subjunctive mood, adjectives or nouns that have negative connotational meaning. Politicians seek to devalue their collegues, they emphasize flaws in their work, they are hostile towards politicians that belong to different political parties or express different views. Solidarity is present only in situations that are related to parliamentary procedures. These findings bear implications of futher research for linguists and political analysts whoare interested in political discourse and notions of power and solidarity in political speeches.
Parliamentary Discourse Analysis: Expression of Power and Solidarity. The aim of this MA thesis is to analize the expression of power and solidarity in political discourse, mainly in speeches produced by left-wing and right-wing members of Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania. The main objective of this paper is to examine how solidarity and power is expressed with the use of modal verbs. After analyzing transcripts of political speeches produced by members of left-wing and right-wing parties in respect of the usage of modal verbs next to the second person pronoun you, an attempt to answer the following questions was made: what and to what extent dominates right-wing and left-wing parliament members political discourse – power or solidarity; can we notice a pattern in choosing the linguistic devices to express power and solidarity; how right-wing and left-wing political discourse differs in terms of expressing solidarity and power. The material for this study consists of two corpora compiled by the author of this paper and is based on political speeches from 2008–2013 delivered by the members of Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania. Total amount of words from right-wing politicians: 1 987 043, total amount of words from left-wing politicians: 1 309 784. Both qualitative and quantitative methods while analysing the data were applied. Given the results of the study, the following conclusions can be drawn. It was noticed that to each other both right-wing and left-wing politicians tend to use significantly more power expressions instead of solidarity expressions. Power is expressed with the help of typical narrative techniques of high and low modality verbs and context become significant while determining which verb is used in which context – power or solidarity. The power is usually expressed with modal verbs and a set of fixed expressions that carry negative or humiliating effect, directives or subjunctive mood, adjectives or nouns that have negative connotational meaning. Politicians seek to devalue their collegues, they emphasize flaws in their work, they are hostile towards politicians that belong to different political parties or express different views. Solidarity is present only in situations that are related to parliamentary procedures. These findings bear implications of futher research for linguists and political analysts whoare interested in political discourse and notions of power and solidarity in political speeches.
Parliamentary Discourse Analysis: Expression of Power and Solidarity. The aim of this MA thesis is to analize the expression of power and solidarity in political discourse, mainly in speeches produced by left-wing and right-wing members of Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania. The main objective of this paper is to examine how solidarity and power is expressed with the use of modal verbs. After analyzing transcripts of political speeches produced by members of left-wing and right-wing parties in respect of the usage of modal verbs next to the second person pronoun you, an attempt to answer the following questions was made: what and to what extent dominates right-wing and left-wing parliament members political discourse – power or solidarity; can we notice a pattern in choosing the linguistic devices to express power and solidarity; how right-wing and left-wing political discourse differs in terms of expressing solidarity and power. The material for this study consists of two corpora compiled by the author of this paper and is based on political speeches from 2008–2013 delivered by the members of Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania. Total amount of words from right-wing politicians: 1 987 043, total amount of words from left-wing politicians: 1 309 784. Both qualitative and quantitative methods while analysing the data were applied. Given the results of the study, the following conclusions can be drawn. It was noticed that to each other both right-wing and left-wing politicians tend to use significantly more power expressions instead of solidarity expressions. Power is expressed with the help of typical narrative techniques of high and low modality verbs and context become significant while determining which verb is used in which context – power or solidarity. The power is usually expressed with modal verbs and a set of fixed expressions that carry negative or humiliating effect, directives or subjunctive mood, adjectives or nouns that have negative connotational meaning. Politicians seek to devalue their collegues, they emphasize flaws in their work, they are hostile towards politicians that belong to different political parties or express different views. Solidarity is present only in situations that are related to parliamentary procedures. These findings bear implications of futher research for linguists and political analysts whoare interested in political discourse and notions of power and solidarity in political speeches.
Parliamentary Discourse Analysis: Expression of Power and Solidarity. The aim of this MA thesis is to analize the expression of power and solidarity in political discourse, mainly in speeches produced by left-wing and right-wing members of Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania. The main objective of this paper is to examine how solidarity and power is expressed with the use of modal verbs. After analyzing transcripts of political speeches produced by members of left-wing and right-wing parties in respect of the usage of modal verbs next to the second person pronoun you, an attempt to answer the following questions was made: what and to what extent dominates right-wing and left-wing parliament members political discourse – power or solidarity; can we notice a pattern in choosing the linguistic devices to express power and solidarity; how right-wing and left-wing political discourse differs in terms of expressing solidarity and power. The material for this study consists of two corpora compiled by the author of this paper and is based on political speeches from 2008–2013 delivered by the members of Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania. Total amount of words from right-wing politicians: 1 987 043, total amount of words from left-wing politicians: 1 309 784. Both qualitative and quantitative methods while analysing the data were applied. Given the results of the study, the following conclusions can be drawn. It was noticed that to each other both right-wing and left-wing politicians tend to use significantly more power expressions instead of solidarity expressions. Power is expressed with the help of typical narrative techniques of high and low modality verbs and context become significant while determining which verb is used in which context – power or solidarity. The power is usually expressed with modal verbs and a set of fixed expressions that carry negative or humiliating effect, directives or subjunctive mood, adjectives or nouns that have negative connotational meaning. Politicians seek to devalue their collegues, they emphasize flaws in their work, they are hostile towards politicians that belong to different political parties or express different views. Solidarity is present only in situations that are related to parliamentary procedures. These findings bear implications of futher research for linguists and political analysts whoare interested in political discourse and notions of power and solidarity in political speeches.
The article discusses the issues of political competence, political activity and political communication in Lithuania. The concept of political competence is operationalized and measured in terms of threefold sub-levels: the level of political information, the congruence between the perception of left-right wing politics, and self-placement on the left-right wing political scale together with the actual voting preferences. Analysis revealed the dependence of the level of political competence upon demographic criteria and personal values. The main problem is incompatibility between the level of political competence and political activity. The most active citizens do not necessarily have substantial political knowledge while the most competent citizens often abstain from active civic and political involvement.
The article discusses the issues of political competence, political activity and political communication in Lithuania. The concept of political competence is operationalized and measured in terms of threefold sub-levels: the level of political information, the congruence between the perception of left-right wing politics, and self-placement on the left-right wing political scale together with the actual voting preferences. Analysis revealed the dependence of the level of political competence upon demographic criteria and personal values. The main problem is incompatibility between the level of political competence and political activity. The most active citizens do not necessarily have substantial political knowledge while the most competent citizens often abstain from active civic and political involvement.
The article discusses the issues of political competence, political activity and political communication in Lithuania. The concept of political competence is operationalized and measured in terms of threefold sub-levels: the level of political information, the congruence between the perception of left-right wing politics, and self-placement on the left-right wing political scale together with the actual voting preferences. Analysis revealed the dependence of the level of political competence upon demographic criteria and personal values. The main problem is incompatibility between the level of political competence and political activity. The most active citizens do not necessarily have substantial political knowledge while the most competent citizens often abstain from active civic and political involvement.
21st century is called the century of democracy. But if you take a look at the contemporary political discourse and recent situation, it is evident that the real situation is far from the described above. "The resurgence of ideological and political turbulence in the late 1960s, social conflicts rising in the early 1970s, and the spread of mass protest by new social movements and citizen initiatives in the 1980s were symptoms of a profound transformation of West European politics". This transformation united xenophobia and the populist ideology into one strong phenomenon that became very popular among the European societies. "Populist parties are generally thought of as lacking grand visions on comprehensive ideological projects. Instead, they are presumed to appeal to common sense of common people, seek to divine mood swings of an increasingly volatile electorate, and to shape their political programs accordingly." Because of high popularity, radical right wing populism becomes stronger. The main purpose of today's political and social elite is to stop or to prevent European societies from the possibility of becoming xenophobic nations full of fair and hatred. The way of preventing xenophobia and radical right wing populism is to create a unified and common European identity. "The future of radical right-wing populism ultimately depends on the degree on which it manages to incorporate the question of national identity into a coherent political program". Since this question was successfully unified in the Western democracies, it is possible that these parties and xenophobic radicalism can come to new EU member states: to Lithuania as well.
21st century is called the century of democracy. But if you take a look at the contemporary political discourse and recent situation, it is evident that the real situation is far from the described above. "The resurgence of ideological and political turbulence in the late 1960s, social conflicts rising in the early 1970s, and the spread of mass protest by new social movements and citizen initiatives in the 1980s were symptoms of a profound transformation of West European politics". This transformation united xenophobia and the populist ideology into one strong phenomenon that became very popular among the European societies. "Populist parties are generally thought of as lacking grand visions on comprehensive ideological projects. Instead, they are presumed to appeal to common sense of common people, seek to divine mood swings of an increasingly volatile electorate, and to shape their political programs accordingly." Because of high popularity, radical right wing populism becomes stronger. The main purpose of today's political and social elite is to stop or to prevent European societies from the possibility of becoming xenophobic nations full of fair and hatred. The way of preventing xenophobia and radical right wing populism is to create a unified and common European identity. "The future of radical right-wing populism ultimately depends on the degree on which it manages to incorporate the question of national identity into a coherent political program". Since this question was successfully unified in the Western democracies, it is possible that these parties and xenophobic radicalism can come to new EU member states: to Lithuania as well.
