The Seventeenth International Conference on Books, Publishing & Libraries

Abstract

The rise of the far-Right, both in its post-fascist variant and in its neo-fascist/neo-nazi one, is a phenomenon well entrenched across Europe. Nowadays, such political formations record two-digit percentages in various countries. Greece is witnessing the sharp rise of one of the most extremist parties in Europe, Golden Dawn. The economic and the refugee crises have been instrumental in Golden Dawn’s breakthrough in the 2012 elections, offering it the opportunity to build grassroots support and links to local communities. Following the fall of the Greek military junta in 1974, Greece was considered immune to far-right extremism, given that the memory of authoritarianism was still fresh. The electoral breakthrough of Golden Dawn may have taken many by surprise, but a careful observer should have noticed the growing audience of far-right publications. Significantly, Golden Dawn chose to issue a newspaper before establishing itself as a political party. Far-Right publishing has been operating in close collaboration with private local TV channels that systematically promote extremist publications. Pseudo-scientific studies in support of far-Right positions on nationalism, illegal immigration, racism, and antisemitism have been systematically publicized and sold through telemarketing providing popular audience and a lucrative source of income to far-Right groups and individuals. The paper examines this yet understudied field of extremist publishing, its choice of authors and titles as well as its networking and aggressive marketing practices.