Extremism in Disguise: Casual Intolerance and Political Cruising in Romania
Extremism in Disguise: Casual Intolerance and Political Cruising in Romania

Summary/Abstract: Extremist and intolerant views show a strong presence in Romania, in both political rhetoric and public opinion. This is despite a decline in support for extreme right groups, which currently have no parliamentary representation, nor any serious prospect of gaining seats in the near future. This paper proposes that a process of incorporation of extremism into mainstream politics has taken place, which rendered extreme right parties superfluous. First, it argues that this incorporation can be explained and understood in terms of the prevalence of two phenomena: casual intolerance and political cruising. Second, it traces the intolerant discursive practices that become embedded and reinforce discriminatory stereotypes, escalating the level of accepted discriminatory speech and enabling the political mainstream to capitalise on support for such views. Finally, it analyses the practice of migration of poli - ti cians from one party to another, suggesting that this constitutes another mode of absorption of extremism and intolerance into the political mainstream.

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