Terrorism and Security IRL3516 L, Niyazbekov Nurseit

The rise of fascist and far-right ideologies in Europe is indeed a symptom of failed and insufficient approaches to cultural integration, though I do acknowledge it is a complex phenomenon with other contributing factors. Where culturalism has struggled, alienation and disenfranchisement can grow. When societies fail to create environments where diverse communities feel included, respected, and invested, tensions do develop. Something that has been very visible in my country Sweden. The lack of effective cultural integration policies led to marginalised communities, who felt excluded, and mainstream communities, who fear and resent the perceived failure to preserve their own cultural identity. Economic anxiety often intensifies this issue. People may turn to far-right ideologies as these movements often offer simple, clear scapegoats. Immigrant communities, ethnic minorities, and other "outsiders" are often framed as the cause of social and economic problems, even when the causes are much more complex.

I do think that inadequate approaches to multiculturalism, globalisation, and economic integration have contributed to an environment where fascist ideologies can flourish in both my country and in Europe.

While I understand the disappointment many feel, supporting fascism is both unjustifiable and harmful. Fascism simplifies complex issues by scapegoating minority groups, especially migrants, which does little to address the root causes of socioeconomic issues, and instead fosters xenophobia and exclusion. As shown in the video, even those who contribute to society or share partial heritage are dismissed as outsiders, demonstrating that the core motivation for many is a sense of superiority rather than genuine concern for socioeconomic issues. The reality is that migrants and minority groups often face greater challenges than native-born citizens, yet they are the ones disproportionately blamed for issues they didn’t create.

The problem of the failure of multiculturalism in Europe is complex and requires detailed analysis. It can be said that the formation of fascist and far-right ideologies in Europe is alarming because it means that cultures have become more disunited, for example in France, Italy as it shown on video or for instance in Germany, where nationalist movements are mainly created. Critics say that this is a problem of lack of integration, causing problems such as unemployment and even higher crime rates in some areas, especially among young people who feel alienated, hence the term “parallel societies” (according to former Chancellor Angela Merkel). Another criticism is that multiculturalism has nurtured the rise of nationalist political parties as more people worry about the effects of immigration and cultural distinctions. Parties such as “Rassemblement Nationale” in France and “Alternative for Germany” have become popular in part because they claim that multiculturalism has failed and that immigration should be limited. However, we need to look at the other side of the equation, perhaps multiculturalism is developing slowly but surely as immigrants contribute a lot to the European economy, especially in sectors where labor is needed. A balanced approach that supports integration and promotes unity may be the best way to address these challenges without abandoning the ideals of multiculturalism.

Multiculturalism and fascism represent left-wing and right-wing ideologies, respectively, so it is quite logical that conservatives will be in contrast to liberals. Europe and its community are opposed to the mainstream, and the rise of fascism is a response to the rise of “imposed” multiculturalism. In the summer of 2024, the ultra-conservative National Party of France won the Parliamentary elections, reflecting the growing popularity of being different from a liberal, being for the right was an electoral punishment. And at the same time, liberal people were very upset. As for me, this is an eternal confrontation between ideologies that will never come to an agreement. But I don't think multiculturalism has failed. It doesn't work if people see it as a threat. Europe is a historically diverse region, oversaturated with important diplomatic events and various people and cultures. People who choose extreme left-wing or right-wing ideologies are severely limited in critical thinking and refuse to understand the “other side”.

I believe that this is yet another example that proves the struggling state of multiculturalism in Europe. In this particular case, CasaPond attracts Italians who feel ignored by their government and see immigration as a threat to their identity. Through the services they provide to fellow Italians, they claim themselves as protectors of 'real', 'true' Italians, as it helps create a strong sense of belonging. This is essentially a reflection of a broader trend across all of Europe (and, as we've seen a few classes ago, Russia), where more and more people are leaning to far-right groups that promote nationalism and oppose the riding immigration. These types of movements thrive on the feeling that multicultural policies favor immigrants over local population. So I'd say that European approach to multiculturalism needs to be reimagined, and the sooner the better, as in European parliamentary elections this summer, far-right parties did better than ever before, and this is really alarming.

I think that we can not view this situation from "fail" or "success" frames. Everything is connected and we can not look at the problem from one specific narrow prism. For example, in my opinion the fascist movement in Italy is developing because of current economic hardships and issues like unemployment, inflation, etc. These issues fueled the anger of already xenophobic people, I assume, that they are also most likely illiterate or uneducated, because they can not look at the original issues, but blame others for their problems. It is not the weak government who can not provide enough workplaces, wages etc to people to [blame], but immigrants who "took over their jobs and homes". Even though migrants face the same issues with unemployment and poverty. Who is to blame?
Additionally, I don't perceive this "party" as fascist. Inspired by certain historical figure(Mussolini), these uneducated people are confused and mixed up their ethnic nationalism with fascism.
So I want to say that the globalization started just recently and we can not claim that it failed, it is just a progress of integration, and naturally it is hard to accept and adapt, especially for conservationists. But with stronger governance, equipped police and law, everything would work out. The true problem here is not immigrants and globalization, but slow police and lazy government who don't care about even citizens, therefore not working on crime prevention. People, especially from poor backgrounds have less of moral conscience and need constant surveillance. Italian government knowing about huge flow of immigrants did nothing to control the security of citizens, but it is not the fault of other migrants, closing borders would not solve the problem. The multiculturalism needs more efforts than just being concept and open borders without regulations.
They also think that by being "fascist", they will make Italy great again. But how? They are using the painful examples of people to gain sympathy and take over the government, but in fact even if they were elected, they wouldn't change the already existing system for the sake of being isolated or intervened.

Aimed at fostering cultural variety with societal cohesiveness, multiculturalism in Europe confronts continuous difficulties that drive arguments about its effectiveness. A fundamental indicator of the success of multiculturalism, social cohesiveness sometimes suffers if groups stay divided or underprivileged economically. Critics contend that this division feeds animosity and misinterpretation, therefore compromising the goals of the policy. Public safety issues raised by cultural conflicts and sporadic events call into doubt the capacity of diversity to promote harmony.

Economic inequalities among European migrant populations also highlight areas where multiculturalism has difficulty delivering fairness because restricted access to education and work possibilities may widen gaps. These social inequalities not only hinder social integration but also cause public opinions of multiculturalism as promoting rather than as bridging of divisions. Such attitudes have led some European politicians to turn toward assimilationist policies, in which immigrants are urged to embrace the majority culture to strengthen unity.

These problems draw attention to areas where change may help multiculturalism even if they do not indicate a total collapse. Adapting policies to better handle integration, social equality, and public concerns might help Europe to promote both variety and unity, thereby guaranteeing that multiculturalism satisfies its original objectives in a complicated, contemporary setting rather than abdicating.

In order to analyze this increasing tendency of rise of popularity of various far-right political groups across European countries, we have to understand that multiculturalism as a vector of social and political policy cannot be regarded as an isolated element of the politics. Although we obviously see how many groups within the European electorates started to lean towards anti-migration and particularist agenda, this kind of disillusionment in multiculturalism is just a symptom of the crisis of the whole liberal democratic consensus established after the end of World war II. For more than a half of century, European politics have been characterised by mostly uncontested domination of centrist parties from both left and right that shared relatively common views on European integation, economic and social policies, although having some minor contradictions. Various traditionally popular political parties were forced to either accept a more moderate program or to get marginalized. As a result, the solutions that could only ve perceived as the inconvenient ones by the liberal centre have never seen their practical implementation, and when the problems with migration and economic policies started to become obvious, there was no one but newly emerged populist groups exploiting resentment and nostalgia who could be seen as an acceptable alternative to politically dysfunctional elites of the centre.

The same goes for multiculturalism, as it was never introduced in a coherent manner. As a fact, migrants from Middle East were never given a proper chance to be integrated into European socieites, as the governments never took any effort to prevent ghettoization and marginalization of these groups. Instead, some European governments even contributed to their isolation from their civilian population using their judicially and economically vulnerable position in order to gain profits from a cheaper labour force. As a predictable consequence, some groups of the electorate feel resentment on the basis of such segregational policies that also affect their own well-being, however, opposing not the practical implementation of the approach itself, but the whole idea of intercultural conviviality, driven by far-right populist agenda.

So, in my opinion, the responsibility for the rise of xenophobic and particularist political forces is shared not only by traditionally conservative groups of the electorate or populist parties, but also by the centrist political parties whose political incoherence and apathy towards migrant groups led many politically unconscious voters to view right-wing alternative as a legitimate one. The problem is not in multiculturalism itself, but in the particular form this idea took in hands of those who are not sincere and politically motivated enough to implement it in a proper, inclusive way.

The concept of multiculturalism in Europe is definitely facing some difficulties with implementations and acceptance from the local societies. To be specific, dissatisfaction with economic instability, a loss of traditional identity, and a lack of faith in the current political institutions are the main causes of the contemporary attraction of nostalgic fascist ideology in Italy, which we see from the provided video.
In order to affirm Italian identity and question the inclusion of multiculturalism, CasaPound organizes protests against immigration and occupies buildings to provide shelter for Italians. The group's statements and actions reflect a rising trend in Europe where some groups of people adopt strong nationalist views because they feel left out of the narrative of globalization. The apparent insufficiency of multicultural policies to decrease economic and social inequalities and promote a unified national identity that strikes a balance between diversity and traditional values.
Therefore, the CasaPound case implies that multiculturalism may worsen native communities' dissatisfaction and give rise to movements that strive to rebuild national identity in exclusionary ways if it is not accompanied by strong social and economic integration measures. The emergence of these groups serves as a reminder of how crucial it is to implement laws that promote diversity and a feeling of community in order to minimize societal differences.

I believe Mussolini’s Fascist regime completely misunderstood the value of diversity. It saw multiculturalism as a threat to Italy’s strength and unity, forcing minority groups like Slovenes, Croats, and Germans to give up their languages and traditions. Instead of recognizing these cultures as part of Italy’s richness, the regime tried to erase them through strict Italianization policies.

This attitude extended to Italy’s colonies, where people were segregated and exploited rather than respected. Instead of building bridges between cultures, the regime doubled down on division, enforcing a narrow, one-dimensional idea of what it meant to be Italian.

To me, this rejection of diversity weakened Italy. It created resentment and fractured communities, missing the opportunity to draw strength from different perspectives and traditions. By clinging to a rigid vision of uniformity, Mussolini’s Fascism left behind a legacy of oppression and missed chances to build a more inclusive and dynamic society.