Does the Greek political party known as “Golden Dawn” characterize a continuing trend of Nationalism in Europe as Nazi Germany did in pre-WWII? To what extent does “Golden Dawn”

Does the Greek political party known as “Golden Dawn”

characterize a continuing trend of Nationalism in Europe as Nazi

Germany did in pre-WWII? To what extent does “Golden Dawn”

apply Fascist and Nazi ideologies to their political arguments?

TN

Senior Seminar 2

Undergraduate Dissertation

Richmond University London

April, 7 th 2014

Tessy de Nassau, Undergraduate Dissertation

Abstract:

This dissertation analyses the question of whether Golden

Dawn (GD) is a continuing trend of nationalism in Europe and

of Nazi Germany in pre-WWII or not. It will demonstrate that

GD is a continuing trend of nationalism that uses Nazi and

fascist concepts in their political argument. In order to

confirm that argument, this dissertation applies Ernest

Gellner’s theory of nationalism and extreme nationalism. Then,

it assesses GD as a political party and dissects their

evolution and appearance. Lastly, it goes one step further by

arguying that GD‘s main arguments embody some fascist elements

identified through the Griffin checklist. Thus, this

dissertation highlights the issue of the important resurgence

and increasing amount of newly emerging far right political

parties in Europe and beyond. This not only demonstrates a

continuing trend of nationalism, but also a worrying political

climate that slowly becomes a normality in the political,

2


economical and social relationship between nations and

individuals that are intertwined in a globalized world.

Rise of Fascism in Europe

This dissertation is a response to the rise of the far

right in Europe and especially in Greece from 2008 to today.

It is undeniable that the financial crisis of 2008 took its

toll on several nation-states in Europe and beyond. Some

effects are very broad and will only be truly understood as

their impacts run their full course. Yet, the effect it had on

3


Greece and Greek politics is arguably well known. This

dissertation dissects the effect of the rise of the far right

in Greek politics, and therefore will focus on the political

party known as Golden Dawn (GD) and its leader Nicolaos

Michaloliakos. This dissertation starts with chapter one and

the fundamentals of nationalism and extreme nationalism

theory, as it is perhaps the most accurate theory to apply in

Greece.

In addition, this chapter looks closer at the concepts of

the nation, nation-sate and nationalism within it. The second

chapter addresses a detailed report of the political party

known as GD, and points out several examples of their actions

and the following consequences of these. This dissertation

argues that GD is a continuing trend of nationalism in Europe

as Nazi Germany was in pre-WWII. The last chapter is an

academic and analytic investigation of the first two chapters.

It argues that extreme nationalism has shifted to an essence

of fascism in the case of GD, and demonstrates this with the

Griffin checklist. Furthermore, it will introduce the term

‘palingenetic ultra nationalism’ in order to demonstrate that

GD uses fascist arguments to their political arguments. Thus,

4


in order to facilitate the substance of the literature, this

last chapter will compare, as did chapter two, GD’s activities

and arguments with the ones of Nazi Germany. This move is

justified as it gives the reader a clear sign of the re-

emergence of the far right in European politics today. Yet,

this dissertation will not produce an explicit comparative

methodology between Nazi Germany and GD, as both political

parties emerged in different times. This means that Nazi

Germany was classified as a biological attachment, while GD is

a patriotic attachment in a globalised world. Thus, GD’s

political arguments mentioned in chapter two are retrieved

from their official website. Furthermore, secondary sources

are retrieved from journals, newspapers and some theoretical

books. Moreover, with Gellner’s definitions of nationalism and

extreme nationalism, this dissertation strengthens the

argument that nationalism, as well as some essences of fascism

are present in the political arguments of GD.

The issue that this dissertation wants to highlight is

that there is a high amount of newly emerging far right

political parties in Europe and beyond. GD will be used as

case study to provide an inside in one of these newly emerging

5


far right political parties. Importantly, it clarifies the

flexibility, and the ability for nationalism and extreme

nationalism to stretch quite far. This last analysis should

render a set of conclusions concerning the problematic of

nationalism and its influence on international politics today.

Nationalism

6


“As a taxonomic term in the social sciences ‘nationalism’

is, like ‘ideology’, a victim of its own success.”1

Nationalism is difficult to analyse because it has had

severe fluctuations in the mode of understanding as a theory.

This understanding can vary between the followers, arguably

known as members of a group, which exercise nationalism as a

core ideology, in contrast to other political ideologies, for

this purpose, identified as non-members. This chapter argues

that nationalism has evolved over time, but that the main

essence, identified as the national identity, is recognition

of a central state. Perhaps, the varied incidents when the

theory has been applied, makes it a complex theory due to

history and its main features, such as the nation state

itself.

Arguably, nationalism requires the concept of the nation

in order to fully expand its potential. The issue in

explaining a nation derives, as it is arguably too big for

citizens of that specific nation to find their proper identity

within it, and too small, to properly function in an

intertwined globalized world that we all live in.2 It is

1 Roger Griffin, The Nature of Fascism, (London: Routledge, 1991), 36.2 Roger Brubaker, Nationalism Reframed Nationhood and the national question in the New Europe, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), 2.

7


important to mention that there was an evolution between the

nineteenth century nationalism and twentieth century

nationalism. This evolution provoked a shift with the term

nationalism itself as it continues to influence politics, and

social behaviour all over the world.3 However, this chapter

will not focus on the history and stay with the theory of

nationalism and extreme nationalism as their definitions.

First, this chapter addresses nationalism and provides

the definition of Ernest Gellner for this purpose. It is

arguably one of the worlds most explicit and recognized

definitions of nationalism. In addition, it talks about the

nation, the state and what this means in the context of

nationalism. This transition is valid, as nationalism would

not have its strength without the nation. Second, this chapter

addresses extreme nationalism in order to manifest that this

derived form of nationalist theory is the closest one of

nationalism when addressing Golden Dawn (GD) in Greece.

Moreover, by considering extreme nationalism, this chapter

will briefly mention immigration as main factor for its

emergence in the first place.

3 Tim Dunne., Milja Kurki., Steve Smith., International Relations Theories, Discipline and Diversity, (Oxford:Oxford University Press, 2010), 83.

8


The complexity of nationalism as a theory stems from the

varying applications of the term throughout history.

Therefore, this dissertation does not mean in any way to prove

that nationalism is bad; it only wants to prove that

nationalism as a concept was misapplied in Greece, and

consequently made it evolve there to what it is now. Ernest

Gellner defines nationalism as: “a political principle which

maintains that similarities of culture is the basic social

bond.”4 Nationalism according to Gellner, gained significantly

in the nineteenth century due to uneven distribution within

the social classes. In addition, he argues that due to

immigration, class struggle increased because of the

misleading development in workforce in urban and newly

industrial nation-state.5

By being uprooted from their homes and thrown together in unfamiliar urban surroundings, people were forced to reassess their loyalties in order torecreate a sense of belonging, and did so by identifying with national construct.6

This quote demonstrates exactly what this chapter aims for, as

it identifies the evolution in social, economic and political

domains, and class differences in the working force. Thus,

4 Ernest Gellner, Nationalism, (London, Westfield & Nicolson, 1997), 3.5 Ibid.6 Claire Sutherland, Nationalism in the Twenty-First Century Challenges and Responses, (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012), 27.

9


through the changing nature of human interaction, nationalism

became stronger and more prominent.

It can be disputed that through mass immigration, and the

uneven development in industry, people were frustrated and

needed a moral compass that would point the direction to

resolution of the struggles. Gellner stresses on the elites as

major players in the evolution of nationalism, as they used

nationalism, in order to provoke a mass participation of the

working class.7 This eventually resulted in the change and

creation of new nations.8

As a result, the ‘nation’ represents the starting point

of this discussion in order to establish the correlation

between nationalism and the nation/ nation-state. A good

example for the creation of nations can be seen in ancient

times when the ruler used settled societies by applying the

same rules to everyone and codifying social identities. 9 In

addition, by doing this, the ruler made sure that he was able

to classify different societies and the people living within

them.10 This was arguably the beginning of class struggle, and

7 Claire Sutherland, Nationalism in the Twenty-First Century Challenges and Responses, (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012), 27.8 Ibid.9John Darwin, Empire and Ethnicity, (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2010), 385.10Ibid.

10


differentiation of socio-economic origins. It is important to

mention that class struggle in the context of nationalism

within this chapter is important, as it provides a good

analysis of the issue that grew within Greece over the last

couple of years. However, this chapter will not pursue Marxist

ideology any further as it is outside of the scope of this

paper.

This process of dehumanizing has been going on in commerce and politics. And out of the long birth-throes of mechanical energy has been born this fully developed apparatus of magnificent power and surprising appetite, which has been christened in the West as the Nation.11

Thus, the nation has become a globally recognized term of a

political entity ruling over a certain territory, granting a

specific culture and moral values to the people living in it.

This is a long and on going process, which arguably emerged

with humanity. Therefore, governments have been known to use

this sense of community in order to attain the best outcomes

to their interests.12

Accordingly, nationalism within a nation has perhaps

local rules and understandings varying between human beings

depending on background and political attachment. Ideologies,

such as constructivism would argue that nationalism within the11 Rabindranath Tagore, Nationalism, (London: Macmillan &Co, 1991), 70.12 Ibid.

11


nation evolves over time as it is shaped by external and

internal factors such as industrialization, and that this

evolution can bring an emotive attachment to national

power.13That is why, this chapter addresses the nation and how

it has emerged, yet not in detail as it is beyond the scope of

this chapter. This chapter emphasizes more on the nation-state

and nationalism itself in order to analyze how it responses to

new challenges that emerge from an evolution in societies,

economic and political integration.

As a result, there are competing categorizations of

nationalism that must be considered. Some scholars such as

Hearn argue that fascism is outdated and that nationalism has

moved on.14 “[These categorizations] distinguish nationalism as

a well-defined ideology or social movement on the one hand,

[and] from its more diffuse presence as an emotion, an

identity or an element of public discourse on the other

hand”.15 It is apparent that nationalism’s universal/latent

emotional presence becomes a political expedient.

13 Rogers Brubaker, Nationalism Reframed, Nationhood and the national question in the New Europe, (Cambridge: University of Cambridge, 1996), 14.14 Jonathan Hearn, Rethinking Nationalism; a critical introduction, (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006), 6.15 Ibid.

12


Especially, since 2008 with the economic crisis that hit

Europe and the whole world, people are very emotional, and

scared for their economical and social prospects. That

emotional presence in nationalism may blind people from the

reality, and encourages them to follow political party that

promises change. Again, reality and perception are two very

difficult terms that varies from one individual to the other.

That is why nationalism, as addressed at the beginning of this

chapter is a problematic term, because it is quite flexible

when confronted with challenges of the twenty-first century.

Therefore, it can be argued that nationalism as mentioned

earlier is easily linked with emotions and can provoke

confusions. Thus, politicians use this confusion to introduce

or change policies that people would not notice or oppose if

they would not have been blinded by social and economical

issues in times of a crisis. After explaining different views

on nationalism this chapter will move on and talk about how

nationalism perceives itself, and how nationalism is in

reality.

Nationalism apprehends itself as a universal and inherent

principle that continues from generation to generation. This

13


means that the state is the central authority, the main unit

of interaction between the people and the state.16 In addition,

for nationalism, no foreigner should rule on any important

matter in this so-called state.17 Nevertheless, the problem

emerges when one looks at the state itself. Perhaps, the state

is a concept that is not universal as it varies in importance

and power within each nation-state. Some scholars such as Karl

Marx would agree with this statement, as for him every state

is autonomous and unique.18

Moreover, Durkheim emphasises that the position of the

state is important and decisive, because it creates

restrictions and limitations on its people.19 Therefore, it

needs to be considered that the state seems powerful as an

apparatus, but the claim that a state is universal is void. It

is not universal, because not every state holds the same power

within its country and its people. This goes well with the

definition of the state that Weber defines as, “a human

community that claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of

16 Ernest Gellner, Nationalism, (London, Westfield & Nicolson, 1997), 6.17 Ibid.18 Hans-Rudolf Wicker, Rethinking nationalism & ethnicity, (New York: Berg, 1997), 87.19 Ibid.

14


physical force within a given territory.”20 This strengthens

the claim that a state is not universal, neither is

nationalism, as it arguably varies between each nation. Yet,

violence within the boarders of a nation might be legitimized

which gives the state a very powerful position to be in.

Therefore, by taking away this universality, it is

arguably agreed upon that nationalism, as exercised by

nationalists, is not really a functioning and applicable

theory in itself. Thus, this inherence becomes perhaps a

component of human nature. That is why, for example,

humanitarian internationalists would agree that in reality,

nationalism is not universal at all.21 For them, it is

impossible to put a central unit in place that regulates the

people, as every nation varies from one another. 22

However, the closest someone came to this ideal of a

central state was arguably Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany.

Thus, a humanitarian internationalist would accept with great

grief that human nature, as characterized by nationalism, is

unfortunately brutal, narrow minded and intolerant on others

20 Max Weber, From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology, ed. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills (London: Routledge, 1991), 78.21 Ernest Gellner, Nationalism, (London, Westfield & Nicolson, 1997), 8.22 Ibid.

15


than themselves or people of their unit.23 People, especially

in the twenty-first Century, are concerned with the

interconnected world where boundaries seem almost non-

existent, and that it for them almost becomes crucial to

defend their heritage, traditions, and culture.

The need to protect the national culture by endowing it with its own state-protector, the need to un-mask, neutralize and drive out the foreigners who wish to destroy and debase that culture.24

Perhaps, this is what Greek people experienced after the

economic crisis in 2008. The numbers of immigrants living in

Greece became significant as civil wars in neighbouring

countries such as Syria became more and more violent. Thus,

these refugees looked for new opportunities to raise their

families, and thousands chose Greece.

It can be argued that nationalism within nations becomes

more defendable because of international institutions, and

multilateral agreements (such as treaties).25 Through this

process, a nation becomes a part of the international system

by practicing legitimate nationalism. Therefore, after

23 Ibid.24 Ibid.25 Richard Mansbach., Edward Rhodes., "The National State and Identity Politics: State Institutionalisation and "Markers" of National Identity." Geopolitics 12, no. 3 (September 2007): 426.

16


explaining and analyzing nationalism theory, this chapter

moves on to address extreme nationalism, as it is the closest

nationalism theory in correlation with the supporting case

study of GD. In addition, through this process of

legitimisation of actions, extreme nationalism has the

potential to evolve to a dangerous concept.

Gellner’s definition of extreme nationalism argues that

“similarities of cultures becomes both, the necessary and the

sufficient condition of legitimate membership: only members of

the appropriate culture may join the unit in question, and all

of them must do so.”26 This definition is a good addition to

the previous definitions, and an accurate continuation for

this dissertation. It is valid, as it is employs a similar

theory used by GD in Greece in order to justify their

political actions. Extreme nationalism requires specific

grounds in order to properly function. This chapter considers

immigration in order to identify it as a major exchange for

the political arguments of GD.

Similar to many of its European peers, Greece has

historically maintained a sizeable immigrant population.

However, with the financial crisis diminishing the Greek 26 Ernest Gellner, Nationalism, (London, Westfield & Nicolson, 1997), 3.

17


economy and its people, they were desperate and needed a moral

expedient to fill this gap of desperation. The irony lies

within the fact that Europe needs immigration to counter the

lack of reproduction within different societies in order to

generate economic growth.27 Therefore, as Gellner stated

before, cultural uniformity becomes a requirement and a

legitimate condition for extreme nationalism to take action,

as it interlinks only members of a certain culture. This

eventually creates tensions and misunderstandings between

ethnic backgrounds and minority groups, from which derive

violence, racism and extreme forms of nationalism.

Thus, an important element to consider is globalization

as it goes well with the evolution of nationalism, the

evolution of human behaviour, and high amount of immigration

between various European countries. Perhaps, it provoked the

shift from left wing liberal to right wing protectionist

nationalist political ideologies in certain European

countries.

Globalization was at the beginning an unknown new concept

of looking at the relationships of nations within each other.

27 “Why Canada needs more Immigration, Now,” Reader’ Digest, February 14, 2014, http://www.readersdigest.ca/magazine/why-canada-needs-more-immigrants—now.

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However, where more interconnectedness emerges, there grew

also a simultaneous interest from one country to the other

that varies from jealousies to competition.28 Perhaps, as a

consequence of this interconnectedness emerged wars, civil

wars, and other negative side effects. It can be disputed that

the pulling apart of nation-sates and the societies within are

identified as the hyper globalist thesis.29 That means that the

issues between nation-states is mostly of an economical

nature, which would justify the economic crash in 2008.Through

this, nationalism gained more popularity within a globalized

world as migrants and immigrants were slowly loosing their

national identity, sense of community and belonging and most

importantly the feeling of security. Furthermore, civil wars

and other conflicts provided the perfect nourishing ground for

extreme nationalism to emerge.

The fine lines between nationalism as a theory,

nationalism as a way of living, and patriotism are

diminishing. “The fangs of nationalism are thereby drawn, and

a benign and healthy national identity or patriotism with its

28 David N. Balaam, Bradford Dillman, Introduction to International Political Economy, (Essex: Pearson Education, 2014), 55.29 Guibernau Montserrat, John Hutchinson, Understanding Nationalism, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2001), 245.

19


replicated symbolism of flags, anthems and ceremonial parades

is rigueur.”30 This might seem coherent to most of the general

public, as each individual has conceivable a sense of

nationalism and pride embedded inside them, yet it needs to be

said that a normal sense of nationalism is healthy and can

help to bring a sense of togetherness and community between

nations. Nonetheless, if one looks through the lens, one

notices that nationalism within different gestures is like a

chameleon on duty, which can be attractive and confusing at

the same time, in order to hide and protect itself from

predators. In this manner, nationalism hides under a cover,

but in reality has the potential to become the biggest

predator of all, if the wrong political party or leaders use

it.

This metaphor marries well with the case study of GD.

They used deciduous methods within their political goal and

used extreme nationalism as their main theory. However, people

followed them as they provided a moral compass and the right

solution for many Greek citizens that searched for a change in

times of crisis. The people, the nation and the state are

therefore arguably all intertwined with one another, and 30 Anthony D. Smith, Nations and Nationalism in a Global Era, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1995), 12.

20


almost link through a feeling of nationalism, healthy or

extreme. For this reason, nationalism is able to adjust to all

kinds of national attachment that emerge from different

circumstances and crisis.

An example for this can be seen at the 2014 Russian

Winter Olympics. Nationalism is identified and shown through

flags, songs and communal togetherness in order for specific

communities to demonstrate their attachment and support to

their national team.31 No one is going to judge a member of a

team by its origins as he/she is providing a service for their

country. In contrast, when a non-member of that nation acts in

a criminal way, or is employed into the workforce that a local

could have got, then origins matter and nationalism could

shift to an extreme nationalistic tool. However, it needs to

be clarified that this form of extreme nationalism, does not

depend on a collectively agreed on national goal, as this may

disrupt the collective view of a community and a country

within its history.32 This means, as mentioned before, that

nationalism is (as any other theory) yet not considered

31 Catherine Baker, "Nationalism on the World Stage: Cultural Performance at the OlympicGames - By Philip A. D'Agati." Nations & Nationalism 19, no. 2 (April 2013), 401.32 Edward Mortimer, People Nation and State, the Meaning of Ethnicity and Nationalism, (New York: I.B. Tauris & Co, 2011), 66.

21


universal, a theory that not everyone follows due to its

specific set of ideas and guidelines. Therefore, nationalism

and extreme nationalism are evolving concept that adjusts to

the needs of its user.

As a conclusion, nationalism is a difficult yet flexible

theory that can result in different outcomes. Nationalism is,

unlike other theories such as realism, not universally

applicable due to historical events and its dangerous essences

that could lead to extreme nationalism. This chapter argued

that nationalism has evolved over time, but that the main

essence of national identity, recognition of a central state

and arguably the universal application of the theory itself,

make it a difficult theory to apply. The next chapter will use

the definition of extreme nationalism and the description of

the nation, the nation-state and the people that live within

these borders, in order to argue that extreme nationalism is

dangerous and arguably let to the emergence of GD’s popularity

in the first place.

Case study Golden Dawn

22


“The new golden dawn of Hellenism is rising. For those

who betray this country, the time has come to fear. We are

coming.”33

In Greece, political parties such as Golden Dawn (GD)

promised a change in times of desperation, fear and

instability. As estimated by many magazines and news chapters,

such as SearchLight, Statesman, and The Guardian, huge unemployment

rates, especially for young people under 25 gave rise to far-

right political ideologies.34 Academic journals and news

chapter articles are one of the only available sources of

information on GD, as GD is a recent political phenomenon.

Thus, initially this second chapter analyses GD, and shows

through examples the effect it had on Greece. It is broken

down into three short subcategories: first, the origins of GD;

second, the evolution of GD in the context of the financial

and political crisis; and finally, public image, facilitated

through public display of fashion-propaganda and signs, which

is vital for its continuing success. This second chapter

argues that GD characterizes a continuing trend of nationalism

in Europe, and shows that they use fascist and Nazi ideologies

33 Stephen Marche. "The new Fascism." Maclean's 125, no. 24 (June 25, 2012): 26. 34 Richard J. Evans, "A new threat for a new era." New Statesman 141, no. 5112 (July 2, 2012): 28.

23


in their political arguments. This chapter will however not

produce a specifically dedicated compare and contrast section

between GD and Nazi Germany. Therefore, the definitions of

nationalism and extreme nationalism as seen in chapter one,

will be linked to the political structure of GD.

In addition, chapter two will analyze the current role of

GD in Greek politics by briefly considering its members, such

as their leader Nikolas Michaloliakos, within the interest of

GD’s policies. Thus, it examines some key events such as the

murder of the popular left-wing rapper Pavlos Fyssas in 2013,

which led to a decline in popularity of GD, and demonstrates

this by addressing the recent vote that passed in Greek

parliament to freeze government funding for them. Finally,

this chapter addresses how fashion-propaganda and cooperation

with other far-right political parties seemed effective to GD

and their political popularity. It argues that they use these

tools and connections as pressure apparatus for their

political campaigns. This last section discusses briefly the

strategy usage of expansion tactics such as youth camps.

Despite raising the relevance of youth camps in this chapter

24


this specific topic will be ignored until chapter three, where

a detailed analysis will be provided on the subject matter.

Origins

In order to properly address GD, this chapter will

address Greece and the emergence of politics in the

“Hellenistic world”. This is integral as GD uses this phrase

to identify its beliefs and policy prescriptions. The

Hellenistic period incorporated divergent narratives such as

Sparta, and showed an important connection between cultural

dominance, and political superiority, which was characterised

by the spread of a specific analogy in European cultures and

their colonies.35 In addition to this, the generic term

“Hellenism” can also be retrieved in the definition of the

Greek nation as homogeneity36, conservation of the main

cultural features, and historical continuity.37

It can be disputed that this sense of superiority and

uniqueness is exactly what GD wants to represent, as they

advocate a Greece for Greek citizens in order to allow it to

become the significant and successful nation, as it once

35 John Boardman., Jasper Griffin., Oswyn Murray., The Oxford History of Greece and the Hellenistic World,(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), 365.36 John Boardman, Jasper Griffin, Oswyn Murray, The Oxford History of Greece and the Hellenistic World, 20.37Theodore A. Couloumbis., Theodore Kariotos., Fotini Bellou, Greece in the Twentieth Century, (Cornwall: MPG Books, 2004), 211.

25


appeared to be. With these aims such as community, does GD

deliver a similar sense of community as Nazi Germany had in

pre-WWII. Perhaps, GD tries to provide a moral compass for

people in Greece that are desperate in looking for one. This

brings back the definition of Gellner, which states that

resemblances of cultures becomes both, vital and a plentiful

situation of legitimate membership.

According to the official website of GD, the political party

was created by Nikolaos Michaloliakos in the 1980s.38

Additionally, “the organization [is composed] of a core group

of Nationalists who based their beliefs on [their] ancestors’

ideology... [i.e.] Sparta.” 39 Thus, GD wants to portray the

image of a stable political party that stands coherently next

to the Greek population in times of crisis. They emphasise

that their priority and interest is, and always will be, the

Greek people, and that neither crisis nor change would ever

alter this.40

By advocating this image they criticise other political

parties, which seem incoherent and self-centred in their

38 “What is Golden Dawn,” Golden Dawn Official Website, accessed November 6th, 2013, http://xaameriki.wordpress.com/faq/.39Ibid.40Ibid.

26


beliefs. In addition, GD argues that other parties advocate

domestic policies that aim for a majority vote.41 This gives

credit to the assumption that GD uses propaganda by delivering

a sense of superiority within the GD community and its

members, as once seen by Nazi Germany in the Weimar republic,

in order to achieve a Greece for Greek people.

Evolution through the Financial Crisis

From its emergence until today, GD gained public trust

and support as Greece was and still is suffering from the 2008

economic depression, which arguably led to a humanitarian

crisis.42 The current challenges facing Greece and its economy

have broader political implications. The Greek parliamentary

system is weak; politicians are unable to champion reforms to

effectively confront the designs of the various interest

groups, and government regulations that arguably led to the

collapse of the economy in the first place.43 Moreover,

unemployment in Greece stands at a peak of 27 percent, while

unemployment for people under the age of 25 is somewhere near

41Ibid.

42“SYRIZA London: Public talk by Alexis Tsipras”, Left, accessed November 6th, 2013,

http://left.gr/news/syriza-london-public-talk-alexis-tsipras.43Michael Mitsopoulos, Theodore Pelagidis, Understanding the Crisis in Greece, From Boom to Bust, (London:Palgrave Macmillan, 2012).

27


50%.44 This was the perfect nourishing ground, characterised by

economic conditions, for far right political parties such as

GD to gain on popularity. Yet, these principles are not new as

a rise in extreme movements has been a recurrent theme

throughout history. After WWI, Hitler rose to power on similar

economic downfall circumstances. In Germany at that time, 33

percent of the population was unemployed.45

This section continues by providing a clear view on the

imposed austerity measures, which were a leading element that

GD used as pressure tool against the left government. European

far-right political parties have emerged as forms of

resistance to the contemporary global order.46 By contemporary

world order this chapter identifies strong western countries

such as Germany, which imposed austerity measures on weaker

countries, such as Greece.

Due to these harsh changes introduced by lenders and the

international community on Greece, the population found itself

in desperate times where they had to choose between eating or

heating as the recent tax climb for the price of oil was

44Richard J. Evans,"A new threat for a new era." New Statesman 141, no. 5112 (July 2, 2012): 28.45 Walter Laqueur, "The Weimar Union." New Republic 243, no. 12 (August 2, 2012): 15.46Owen Worth, Resistance in the Age of Austerity, Nationalism, the Failure of the Left and the Return of God, Canada: Fernwood Publishing, 2013.

28


pressed up even further then beforehand.47 This resulted in a

general frustration, anger, and protest fatigue, as they felt

left out of Greek politics. 48 Costas Lapavitsas et al. argue

that European austerity is counter-productive49 “and lead[s] to

widespread challenges to Greek political authority.”50 Thus,

Greek political authority is unstable as the country is highly

in-debt; people lost their trust in their government as they

lack inspiring confidence, which undermines the Greek

government’s authority to a high extend. Moreover, austerity

measures (new laws) such as the approval of 15,000 job cuts51

and even more taxes by the Greek government, created

frustration and fear by Greek citizens. It has now been six

years since the beginning of the Greek national crisis. Wages

have fallen by about 12 percent in the last two years, which

created tensions in household spending. 52 The financial crisis

has rendered the Greek population desperate in times where the

political and economical only seemed to get worse. This

47 "Greece in Danger." Nation, February 18, 2013, 3.48 Joanna Kakissis, "Europe's Basket Case." Foreign Policy no. 201 (July 2013): 84.49 Lapavitsas Costas, et al., Crisis in the Euro Zone, (Brooklyn: Verso, 2012): 59.50 Chris Rogers, Sofia Vasilopoulou, "Making Sense of Greek Austerity." Political Quarterly 83, no.4 (October 2012): 777.51 “Greece parliament approves job cuts”, Aljazeera, April 29, 2013, accessed November 20, 2013,http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2013/04/2013428212257804470.html.52 Kerin Hope, “Greek deflation accelerates after wages drop”, Financial Times, November 8, 2013,accessed November 20, 2013, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c8564ce8-48ab-11e3-8237-00144feabdc0.html.

29


confirms the similar nourishing grounds in Greece as in Nazi

Germany in order to see a re-birth of extreme nationalism in

Europe. This situation has striking similarities with the

events in the Weimar Republic.

At this point, it is crucial to mention the two strongest

political parties in Greece in order to understand why Greek

people were guided to GD in the first place. It needs to be

said that Greece does not have a strong mainstream political

party. Thus, the ‘New Democratic’ and ‘PASOK’ are the two main

left political parties in Greece. 53 As said before, within the

social democratic view, taxes were pushed up even further in

order to bail out Greece from its debts in order to pay back

the lenders. Fouskas and Dimoulas argue that due to these

liberal/social democratic perspectives it is impossible to see

the real issue in this matter, which lies within the majority

of the ruling class in Greece, in other words, power politics

from the left.54 It can be disputed, that these two parties

provoked the crisis within Greece to begin with, and by

cutting of wages, and depriving 15,000 people from their jobs,

they only made it worse. These harsh cuts were on one hand

53 Vassilis K. Fouskas, “What happened to Greece”, The Political Quarterly 84, no 1 (2013): 135.54 Vassilis K. Fouskas., Constantine Dimoulas, “The Greek Workshop of Dept and the Failure of the European Project”, Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies 14 (2012): 5.

30


necessary for the economy to recover, but on the other hand

created an interior mess within Greece. The reward left the

Greek structure even more unstable, and to the mercy of

European countries and international capital.55

Consequently, radical changes as mentioned above make

people elect representatives of whom they hope to receive the

best outcomes in other words, stability in Greece. Arguably,

in times of crisis, sensibility and understanding from a

leader towards the individual is crucial in order to avoid

frustration, anger and mistrust. “Robbing people of hope for

their future leads them to search for scapegoats.”56 Although

austerity measures were necessary, the frustration of the

people was too high for them to realise its functional purpose

for the long- term growth of Greek economy. It can be argued

that Greece, since a few decades, has a lack in mainstream

political parties, and thus, people were drawn to GD in order

to oppose left wing policies.

The electoral popularity of GD in the May, 6th 2012

elections was a consequence of the financial crisis that had

55 Ibid.56 Richard J. Evans, "A new threat for a new era." New Statesman 141, no. 5112 (July 2, 2012): 29.

31


been ongoing for six years.57 GD implemented populist policies,

such as anti-immigration policies into their main aims.58

Consequently, by advocating such policies, GD provoked riots

all around Greece where people nourished radical thoughts such

as illustrated by Paul Jackson, “there is nothing “racist” in

not wanting my children to become a persecuted minority in

their own country through mass immigration.”59 Ironically

enough, Greece is the least effected country by immigration

and criminality compared to other European countries.60 This

shows to which degree GD successfully exercises propaganda on

their voters who seem blinded by their fear of survival.

In addition, the Greek population does not trust their

government anymore. As a consequence, the ‘neo-Nazi GD’ gained

18 MPs (out of 300) spots with a total of 7 percent in 2012 in

Greek Parliament. 61 It seems clear that the high amount of

votes that GD received were a consequence of the policies

introduced by the New Democracy and the PASOK mentioned

57Allan Salles, “En Grèce, la Banalisation d'Aube Dorée”, Le Monde, September 28, 2013, accessed November 6, 2013, http://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2012/09/28/en-grece-la-banalisation-d-aube-doree_1767494_3210.html.58Ibid.59Paul Jackson, “Fjordman and Fascism: the extremes of the Counter-Jihad worldview,” Searchlight 452 (2013): 17. 60 Jackson, “Fjordman and Fascism: the extremes of the Counter-Jihad worldview,” Searchlight 452 (2013): 17.61 Alex Andreou, "After the earthquake." New Statesman 141, no. 5111 (June 25, 2012): 13.

32


earlier. This made GD the third most popular political party

in whole Greece.62 However, that was about to change.

Greece’s third biggest party, GD, has seen its popularity soar on the back ofdesperation. The organisation is accused of making violence its calling card,and human rights groups hold it responsible for hundreds of attacks on dark-skinned immigrants in the three years since the debt-stricken country plungedinto crisis.63

This strengthens the argument that GD uses Nazi ideologies in

their political arguments, which is the cause of their

downfall, due to their political inadequacy that as been

learned from historical events.

Thus, the raising popularity that seemed similar to the

Weimar Republic in WWII let European countries to take

actions. Through public pressure on the Greek government due

to the murder of left wing rapper Pavlos, 64 Michaloliakos,

also known as ‘the Fuhrer’, and other MP’s have been arrested

on accusations of murder, attempted murder, and other criminal

activities such as black mailing and money laundering.65 This

had as consequence that GD lost their political party funding.

Reuters states that 235 members of parliament voted for a

62 "The Week." National Review 65, no. 20 (October 28, 2013): 11.63 "The Week." National Review 65, no. 20 (October 28, 2013): 11.64 Cleo Brock-Abraham, et al. "World." Time 182, no. 16 (October 14, 2013): 8. 65Liz Alderman, “Greece Arrests Senior Members of Far-Right Party”, New York Times, September 29,2013, accessed November 6, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/30/world/europe/greece-arrests-senior-members-of-far-right-party.html?_r=0, 2.

33

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/30/world/europe/greece-arrests-senior-members-of-far-right-party.html?_r=0



suspension of funds (represents 873,000 Euro in total).66 He

adds that since the arrest, the party’s popularity has fallen

by about 3 percent.67 Perhaps, this event demonstrates the

decline of GD support by the Greek public. Yet, what lies

behind the curtain is still unknown, as politics in Greece

stays unstable and fragile to any circumstances that arise

from it.

Appearance

GD tries to portray a sense of a unified political party,

such as the EDL in Britain. The news chapter ‘Le Monde’ (a

leading French chapter) argues that, since the beginning of

the economic crisis, GD has slowly created a network of

connection with other far-right groups in Europe, such as the

NDP in Germany, Noua Dreapta in Romania, Forza Nuova in Italy,

and the EDL in Britain.68 They continue by stating that their

aim is to create a national alliance “pan-European” in Europe.

Moreover, they claim that GD does not stop there, as it has

already created contacts as far as the USA, Canada and

66 Reuters, “Golden Dawn state-funding to be withdrawn”, The Guardian, October 23, 2013, accessed November 6, 2013, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/23/golden-dawn-loses-state-funding.67 Ibid.68Filippa Chatzistavrou, “Le Neonazisme grec, une affaire europeenne”, Le Monde, May 30, 2013, accessed November 7, 2013, http://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2013/05/30/le-neonazisme-grec-une-affaire-europeenne_3421142_3232.html.

34


Australia.69 This is a crucial point to mention in this

project, as it answers a part of the research question by

proving, that GD represent a continuing trend of nationalism,

which goes beyond national boarders. They clearly identify

themselves with other far-right political party’s in Europe,

and are violently outspoken about immigrants on their official

websites.

In addition, GD uses slogans and uniforms in order to

identify themselves with each other and their members.

According to Joanna Kakissis,

GD’s slogans, salutes, symbols and gatherings distinctly echo images andwords from the Third Reich...[They] don’t practice an ideology that is simplythe loud ultra-nationalism practiced by other European far-right parties...it isvery clearly a Nazi group.70

This point demonstrates that GD does portray the continuity of

nationalism as Nazi Germany to a wide extends, and testifies

that they use fascist elements in their political argument.

This provides evidence of the fashion-propaganda that GD want

to portray within the Greek society, their political group,

69Filippa Chatzistavrou, “Le Neonazisme grec, une affaire europeenne”, Le Monde, May 30, 2013, accessed November 7, 2013, http://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2013/05/30/le-neonazisme-grec-une-affaire-europeenne_3421142_3232.html. 70 Joanna Kakissis, “Reclaiming Xenophobia: The Rise of Ultra-Nationalism in Greece”, World, October 31, 2012, accessed November 6, 2013, Reclaiming Xenophobia: The Rise of Ultra-Nationalism in Greece | TIME.com http://world.time.com/2012/10/31/reclaiming-xenophobia-the-rise-of-ultra-nationalism-in-greece/#ixzz2jyy0DxHG.

35

http://world.time.com/2012/10/31/reclaiming-xenophobia-the-rise-of-ultra-nationalism-in-greece/#ixzz2jyy0DxHG





and throughout the whole world. This brings back the

definition of extreme nationalism, as GD wants to portray a

unified community build up from Greek nationalists, in order

to form a new and better Greece for everyone.

Moreover, GD organises a few times a year youth training

camps for the member’s children and young members.71 Through

events such as ideological and educational classes, they want

to advocate the old spirit of Greece and teach better ways of

living a young life away from modernity and liberal

universalism. 72 In addition, they host regular sport, social

and ecological events to keep their youth fit and active as a

protection against the outside.73 All these guidelines and

practices are arranged to propagate the groups believes and

ideologies which are part of their policies and mirror Nazi

ideologies. Through the youth groups, GD prepares their young

members for a rise of a more communal ‘society’, expressed and

idealised within GD’s political arguments.74

71 “What is Golden Dawn,” Golden Dawn Official Website, accessed November 6th, 2013, http://xaameriki.wordpress.com/faq/.72 Stephen Marche. "The new Fascism." Maclean's 125, no. 24 (June 25, 2012), 26.73 “Nationalist Camps: The birthplace of camaraderie,” GD Official Website, accessed November 6th, 2013, http://xaameriki.wordpress.com/faq/.74 “What is Golden Dawn,” Golden Dawn Official Website, accessed November 6th, 2013, http://xaameriki.wordpress.com/faq/.

36


Therefore, this second chapter gave an insight into the

Greek political party known as GD. It critically examined the

origins of GD by looking at the fundamental phrase that is

used by the members in order to define their beliefs and

traditions. They truly advocate a Hellenistic Greece, and wish

to create a utopian view of ancient Greece for Greek people.

It addressed the evolution of GD by describing the gain of

their popularity due to the Euro zone crisis, which hit Greece

in 2008. However, due to the murder of the left-wing rapper

Pavlos on September 18th both, Michaloliakos, and several other

party members were arrested as a consequence of this tragic

event. This had as a result a freeze of future party funding

for them. It then addressed the appearance that GD wants to

portray to the outside world and within its organisation.

The second chapter demonstrated that GD is a continuity

of extreme nationalism, which has its roots in the ideologies

of Nazi Germany. In addition, through its appearance, this

chapter showed that GD uses fascist elements in their

political argument, which are however not officially

recognised by GD. They advocate for a Greece for Greek with

uniforms that have swastika like emblems on it, and specially

37


made group flags. Finally, this chapter mentioned the youth

training camps in order to outline that GD has the same

characteristics as Nazi Germany, and that it has the potential

to get stronger over the time. Although, not all aspects of GD

ideology and propaganda are purely right wing, most of them

are clearly inspired by Nazi ideology.

Golden Dawn characterizes a continuing trend ofnationalism in Europe as Nazi Germany did in pre-WWII.

Within the life of a generation now in control of affairs, persuasion has become a self-conscious art and a regular organ of popular government…It is no longer possible…to believe in the origin of dogma of democracy; that the knowledge needed for the management of human affairs comes up spontaneously from the human heart. Where we act on that theory, we expose ourselves to self-deception, and to forms of persuasion that we cannot verify.75

This last chapter analyses the previous two chapters, in

order to identify the political party known as Golden Dawn

(GD) as a continuing trend of nationalism in Europe. In

addition, it will demonstrate that GD uses fascist and Nazi

arguments to strengthen their political argument. The first

chapter addressed nationalism and extreme nationalism theory,

and clarified in which ways it can be applied in the political

75Philip M. Taylor, Munitions of the Mind, A history of Propaganda from the Ancient World to the Present Day, (New York: Macmillan, 1990), 321.

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and international arena of relationships between and within

the nation-states of the world. The second chapter focused on

the case study of GD in Greece, and provided specific and

recent events that made GD a perfect match for this purpose.

GD is arguably only one of the major far right political

parties that has emerged over the last few years in Europe and

beyond. It is important to analyse these new emerging forms of

extreme nationalism, so that history does not repeat itself,

as it conceivably evolves over time. That is why, far right

political parties need to be looked closely as their

intendment does not always stand in the visible light, and

therefore bad intentions and interests are not always

identified as such.

In the first chapter, it was asserted that nationalism as

a concept was misapplied in Greece. The second chapter with

the case study of GD in Greece reinforced this statement. Yet,

it needs to be said that perhaps the concept of wrong and

right is based on principle values such as the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights and other universally recognised

social norms that people adapt, follow and use everyday of

their live.76 Of course, one could argue that these values and 76 Anthony Quinton, Political Philosophy, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1967), 55.

39


norms just mentioned are Western, and therefore do not take

into account traditions and varieties of other cultures. Yet,

for the purpose of this dissertation, it will be assumed that

these social norms are universally recognised values, because

other wise there would be no plausible agreement found.

Therefore, in the context of Greece, nationalism was used

wrongly as it created a zero sum game between the Greek people

and the migrants from other countries. Perhaps, this zero sum

game emerged because Greece experienced a serious meltdown in

their economical and financial sectors from 2008 to today. One

could call this a form of ‘munitions of the mind’ that drives

people, as arguably nationalism, extreme nationalism and

fascism do. By that, this chapter assumes that people are

driven by propaganda, a form of charisma led relationship

between the advocator, in this case GD, and the receiver, in

this case the citizens in Greece.77 The sensibility of the

terms ‘munitions of the mind’ is important to mention, as it

shows how charisma and propaganda becomes a part of political

arguments and can be viewed as rejuvenation for national

identity.78 Consequently, due to politics that fuses slowly

77 Philip M.Taylor, Munitions of the Mind, A history of Propaganda from the Ancient World to the Present Day, (New York: Macmillan, 1990), 1.78 Ibid.

40


with moral, ethical, and emotional values, the power

relationship between the advocator and the receiver becomes

less transparent and more complicated to assess and

understand. In contrast, some scholars would argue, that “the

notion of national identity can have little or no relevance

for understanding their societies and institutions”.79

Paradoxically this is exactly what this chapter warns for, as

it is this mentality that makes nationalism, let alone

fascism, so unpredictable.

This chapter identified propaganda and its

unpredictability of outcome in order to arrive to the main

point of it, fascism. This move is justified, as GD shows a

slight shift to palingenetic ultra nationalism, a more

disguised form of fascism today.80 Palingenetic ultra-

nationalism as described by Griffin can be understood as

several terms fused into one concise unit in order to form one

word with a specific meaning.81 This means that for example,

‘liberal democracy’ as a term, has a specific meaning that

would change in meaning if one looks at the individual

components of the word. This is not different for the term of 79 Aviel Roshwald, The Endurance of Nationalism, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), 23.80 Roger Griffin, The New Fascism, (London: Routlegde, 1991), 38.81 Ibid.

41


palingenetic ultra-nationalism82. Griffin defines it as, “a new

nationalist state... [that provides a] new solution to the old

nationalist problems of the decay and the decline of the

community.”83 GD and Nazi Germany arguably shared this sense of

palingenetic ultra nationalism in order to pursue their

political interests. Thus, through palingenetic ultra

nationalism it can be argued that extreme forms of nationalism

are not new, but only used differently in new times. Arguably,

this will lead to the destruction of ethical and moral values

of that specific nation state in the long term as seen for

example in Greece.

Therefore, palingentic ultra nationalism, is a difficult

and sensible term to analyse when addressing GD in Greece.

However, it is an acceptable term in order to label GD

political arguments, as it emerged on similar and extreme

economic, social and political turmoil as Nazi Germany did in

Pre-WWII. Moreover, nationalism definition may vary in context

and use depending on the situation and the country.

Undeniable, since Nazi Germany, no one tends to use the term

fascism, as it is a term linked to horrible memories where

82 Aristotle A. Kalis, The Fascism Reader, (London: Routledge, 2003), 71.83 Roger Griffin, The New Fascism, (London: Routlegde, 1991), 38.

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humanity arguably reached bottom in WWII. However, it needs to

be said that fascism as well, has moved on from the 1930s

definition, and is perhaps reborn through the terms of

palingentic ultra nationalism, but not yet officially

identified as such.84

Despite the struggle of identification between fascism

and ultra palingenetic nationalism, it is crucial to clarify

that GD in Greece received an illegal status by

parliamentarian vote. Therefore, GD is unauthorised to pursue

any political arguments in Greek politics in the near future.

However, this chapter will use GD’s old political arguments

and actions in order to show that GD was significantly racist

as they arguably used extreme nationalist-fascist arguments to

their political arguments. By old political arguments, this

section addresses their actions and arguments before the

murder of the left wing rapper Pavlos in 2013.

A good example of uniformity that GD wants to portray in

their political actions, as Nazi Germany expressed in pre-

WWII, can be demonstrated through GD’s fashion propaganda.

They used, as did Nazi Germany, and the Black Shirts in Italy,

specially made party flags with red swastika like emblems on 84 Ibid.

43


it.85 Likewise, their leader, Michaloliakos produced fist-

shaking speeches, and numerous members of GD have freely

approved Hitler’s perspectives. 86 All these tools and

apparatus are used to construct a unified political identity

for GD. This permits the movement to show how strong it is as

a community, and demonstrates who is a member and who is

excluded from that society, in order to symbolise a successful

political movement.

Therefore, not only through fashion-propaganda, but also

as identified by the Griffin checklist, GD is a fascist

movement in disguise. Fascism for Griffin has several

essences, which are unfortunately easily intertwined with

extreme nationalism. By that, according to Griffin some

elements of fascism embody:

- Anti-liberal

- Anti-conservative

- Tends to operate as a charismatic form of politics

- Racism.87

However, it needs to be said that fascism is difficult to

identify on the political pendulum. Perhaps, the leaders 85 Roger Griffin, The New Fascism, (London: Routlegde, 1991), 38.86 Stephen Marche. "The new Fascism." Maclean's 125, no. 24 (June 25, 2012), 26.87 Roger Griffin, Fascism, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 4-7.

44


themselves such as Hitler or Michaloliakos did not realise to

what extend they used fascist ideas in the first place. To

come back to Griffins checklist, fascism does, as extreme

nationalism, reject liberalism because liberal theory tends to

favour the individual and not the state.88 For them the state

is secondary and therefore not state centric.

Liberalism would completely oppose the possibility of a

form of nation that could rejuvenate, because a nation-state

for liberals is ‘only’ an entity and secondary.89 Yet, for

nationalism and fascism, the nation-state, is imaginable

conceived as an organ that has a life circle and psyche on its

own, which is guided and nurtured by a strong and charismatic

leader.90 Therefore, fascism as nationalism places emphasise on

the importance of the state as main figure of enforcement.

This is clearly seen in Greece where GD uses its political

power of persuasion and popularity in order to rejuvenate

Greece to a new order.

Moreover, fascism is anti-conservative, as conservatives’

value tradition and culture, while extreme nationalism and

88 “The Fight For American Liberalism,” The Nation, April 11, 2012, http://www.thenation.com/article/167345/fight-american-liberalism#89 Ibid.90 Aristotle A. Kalis, The Fascism Reader, (London: Routledge, 2003), 159.

45


surely fascism arguably strive for a creation of a new

society.91 This new society should characterise a rebirth of a

particular set of values that a specific group/community has

adapted as their main values despite the real traditions of a

country. A good example for this is GD and Nazi Germany, as

both did not really support conservative and traditional

measures to gain on prominence. For them their political

popularity started because of an economic issue.92 This issue

was also known as capitalist crisis that fuelled into high

unemployment, and a significant degree of desperation within

the working class. However, if one looks really into the

history and sequence of events that hit these two countries

one notices that both political parties were rightfully and

democratically elected despite their hidden agendas.93 Both

leaders advocated a change for their countries, a new rebirth

of a better, purer and more successful society.

“Fascism, a political trend which emerged in capitalist

countries in the period of the general crisis of capitalism

and which expresses the interests of the most reactionary and 91 Gary King, et al., "The Ordinary Election of Adolf Hitler: A Modern Voting Behavior Approach." Conference Papers -- American Political Science Association (August 28, 2002), 2.92 “What is Golden Dawn,” Golden Dawn Official Website, accessed November 6th, 2013, http://xaameriki.wordpress.com/faq/.93 Gary King, et al., "The Ordinary Election of Adolf Hitler: A Modern Voting Behavior Approach." Conference Papers -- American Political Science Association (August 28, 2002), 2.

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aggressive forces [of a society].”94 Therefore, it can be

argued that both leaders took advantage of the extreme

conditions of their countries and blamed the economic stage of

desperation and other ethnical groups for it. Moreover,

fascism as perhaps extreme nationalism tends to operate as a

charismatic form of politics. “As perceptions are shaped,

cognitions may be manipulated...The source may or may not be

correctly identified, and the accuracy of the information is

uncertain.”95 This means that GD and Nazi Germany used

political arguments that were not always rightfully used. It

arguably shaped people’s perceptions at that time, and made

them react in a way that they did. Hence, nationalism, extreme

nationalism, and fascism are arguably able to adapt to all

kinds of circumstances as long as they reach the interest of

the user. Thus, GD and Nazi Germany through the use of extreme

nationalism and fascist theory, advocate for a rejuvenated

community. This sense of togetherness and collective work of

people living in a certain nation, gives these far right

parties an ideal country that is intertwined in solidarity.96

94 Roger Griffin, Fascism, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 282.95 Garth S. Jowett, Victoria O’Donnell, Propaganda and Persuasion, (California: Sage Publications,2006), 20.96 Aristotle A. Kalis, The Fascism Reader, (London: Routledge, 2003), 233.

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Thus, extreme nationalism is perhaps one of the main essences

of fascism. One could even argue that fascism needs the nation

in order to function. “If we are looking for a pivot around

which fascist doctrine revolves we must look no further than

‘nation’ and ‘race’”.97 That is why, in this context, a nation

is a political unit bound together by identical interest and

collective solidarity. Moreover, the term racism is a unique

term applied by fascism, however, if one looks at racism

through a lens and puts it in the context of extreme

nationalism; one notices that extreme nationalism too, uses

some racial features into their main patterns.98 The paradox of

racism emerges, as today in a globalised world, it is not

unique to see different kinds of ethnic cultures united in one

nationalist group, which makes racism almost non-existent.99

In addition, as mentioned previously, nationalism is all about

the nation-state and the community within that nation. This

fake and unreal sense of belonging of patriotism, in

correlation with other forms of identity, is intertwined

97 Peter Davies, Derek Lynch, Fascism and the Far Right, (New York: Routledge, 2002), 113.98 Aristotle A. Kalis, The Fascism Reader, (London: Routledge, 2003), 166.99 Guibernau Montserrat, John Hutchinson, Understanding Nationalism, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2001), 245.

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within this cocktail of nationalism, extreme nationalism GD

and fascism.

Thus, fascism as well as GD, uses the Hellenistic times

to justify their arguments. By Hellenistic times, or era one

notices that GD uses that term by applying it in correlation

with a specific myth of superiority that Greece in the times

of Sparta embodied in the world.100 However, the term of

Hellenistic world/ myth has a different meaning than the one

used in Spartan times. “[In this context it] draws attention,

not to the utopianism, irrationalism, or sheer madness of the

claim it makes to interpret the contemporary reality, but to

its power to unleash strong affective energies through the

evocative force of the image or vision of reality it contains

those susceptible to it.”101 GD and Nazi Germany were very

skilled in using this sense of myth for their both advantages,

as they persuaded the general public of their political

arguments while giving them a moral vacuum that was needed in

both time periods for the same reason---unemployment,

frustration, and disbelieve in their current government.

100 Boardman, Griffin, Murray, The Oxford History of Greece and the Hellenistic World, 365.101 Roger Griffin, Fascism, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 3.

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As a result, fascism as nationalism, are within their

‘theory’ quite incoherent with their own features, but this

does not matter as long as the main pattern is achieved, a new

order. “It is often said that nationalism [and fascism have]

no ideology to speak of, let alone a doctrine. It is only a

bundle of inchoate sentiments, elaborated by more or less

florid rhetoric”.102 Thus, as mentioned before, fascism and

extreme nationalism have a shared mythic core, identified by

Griffin as palingenetic ultra-nationalism’103. GD uses a shared

myth of Hellenistic traditional values with a mix of core

fascist elements such as the creation of a new super race by

training their young’s in youth camps, advocating a uniform

community with group flags, and swastika like emblems on their

t-shirts and uniforms. All of these symbols and activities are

arguably inspired by Nazi Germany.

That strengthens the argument that GD is a continuing

trend of nationalism in Europe, and that they use fascist, and

Nazi ideology to strengthen their political arguments.

Therefore, “image and reality must go hand-in-hand if a

102 Anthony D. Smith, Nationalism, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2001), 21.103 Roger Griffin, Fascism, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 8.

50


nation’s actions are to be perceived in a desired way.”104Thus,

this dissertation, and especially this last chapter,

identified GD as a continuing trend of nationalism in Europe.

It is important to recall that GD is a recent phenomenon on

the world stage that only gained public attention after the

melt down caused by the financial crisis in 2008. Thus, in

order to facilitate the claim, this chapter exposed GD’s

political arguments to Nazi ideologies, and demonstrated that

they use fascist philosophy to their political debate.

‘Golden Dawn’ used as a case study to create awareness

for the significant rise of far right political parties in

Europe and beyond.

104 Philip M.Taylor, Munitions of the Mind, A history of Propaganda from the Ancient World to the Present Day, (NewYork: Macmillan, 1990), 319.

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This dissertation is a first hand reaction to the

rise of far right political parties in Europe and beyond. It

demonstrated through advanced research and a clarion analysis

that GD is a continuing trend of nationalism in Europe that

uses fascist arguments in their political argument. This

argument was strengthened through Gellner’s definitions of

extreme nationalism and nationalism. Thus, GD used extreme

nationalism in order to portray a unified community, and

demonstrated with that a rebirth of a new and better Greece

for everyone. With Gellner’s definitions it became clear that

GD not only used extreme nationalist arguments, but also

tended to use fascist, and palingenetic ultra nationalism

altercations to their argument. The issue that this

dissertation highlighted, through the case study of GD in

Greece, was that there is a high amount of newly emerging far

right political parties in Europe and beyond. This not only

demonstrates a continuing trend of nationalism today, but also

a worrying political climate that becomes slowly a normality

in the political, economical and social relationship between

nations and individuals that are intertwined in a globalized

world.

52


The first chapter provided the core definitions of

nationalism and extreme nationalism theory. In addition, it

looked closer at the concepts of the nation, nation-sate and

nationalism within it. The second chapter provided a very

detailed and accurate description of GD and pointed out

several examples of their actions and the following

consequences of these. In the last chapter, this dissertation

demonstrated analytical skills by providing a detail

explanation on why GD is a continuing trend in Europe.

In addition, in order to strengthen this argument, this

dissertation compared GD to Nazi Germany in pre-WWII in order

to demonstrate that GD uses fascist and Nazi ideology as their

political argument. However, the biological attachment of

people in Nazi Germany was completely different to the

patriotic attachment seen today in an interconnected world.

The far right in general, as GD in Greece, might demonstrate

an emergence of new ways of political interaction between the

public and their political representatives. However, the

principles of extreme nationalism are not new, because a rise

in extreme nationalist movements has been a recurrent theme

throughout history. It is frightening to see that GD, even

53


though that they are officially recognised as being an illegal

political party, has spread its wings and is now branching out

in other countries such as Italy with the “Alba Dorata Italia,

Le Front National in France, and Golden Dawn Europe.105

However, with the help of the United Nations, NATO, and other

institutions that monitor far right activities, it is possible

to break the trend of such extreme political parties.

Thus, as long as there is economic, social and political

turmoil around the world, far right political parties will

always try to take advantage of such nourishing grounds. For

Greece in particular, it is advised to offer a more main

stream political party in order to provide the Greek people

with a choice rather than the way of one extreme party (left)

to the other one (right). At this point in time it would be

difficult to provide a specific recommendation of governmental

policies in order to avoid future outbreaks of far right

political parties such as GD. The economic financial crisis is

an ongoing issue and needs to be resolved first in order to

effectively stabilise and strengthen affected governments and

their internal politics. At last, as far-right political

parties are popular in Europe and beyond, as demonstrated by 105 “Searchlight”, Fighting Fascism and Racism Internationally, no. 457 (January 29, 2014): 36-45.

54


Le Front National in France and their domestic elections in

march 2014 it is strongly advised to the reader to bring back

this dissertation in a year’s time in order to adjust and

complete this argument.

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Documents

Does the Greek political party known as “Golden Dawn” characterize a continuing trend of Nationalism in Europe as Nazi Germany did in pre-WWII? To what extent does “Golden Dawn”