Research Group REXKLIMA
The rise of far-right political parties and the urgency of climate change stand out as two of the most relevant contemporary political phenomena. However, the social sciences mostly treat them separately. The research group REXKLIMA (Far-right politics versus climate action? Nationalist opposition in a transnational political field) combines both issues. REXKLIMA has been established by Prof. Dr. Manès Weisskircher and based at the Institute of Political Science at TU Dresden and the Hannah Arendt Institute for Totalitarianism Studies. The research group is funded for five years (2023-2027) by Germany's Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR). Apart from the head of the research group, it comprises a post-doc position, three doctoral positions, and a guest researcher program.
In Europe, far-right parties often deny the transnational problem of human-induced climate change and increasingly mobilize against climate action. The burgeoning literature on far-right 'climate skepticism' emphasizes the need for research on the precise stances of far-right parties on concrete climate and energy policy measures, their mobilization strategies in this policy area, and the impact of their 'anti-environmental' activism. The research group will contribute to filling these research gaps. Our guiding research question is: How and why do far-right parties mobilize on the issue of climate change? We study pressing topics such as the energy transition and renewable energies, e.g. wind power or solar energy, the Green New Deal at the EU level, ecological settler projects, and interventions in environmental groups. In addition, the members of REXKLIMA also contribute to other essential questions in research on far-right politics, especially in party politics research and social movement studies.
We are glad about your interest in REXKLIMA: Please get in touch and visit the profiles of our team! Our publications comprise journal articles and chapters in edited volumes. A key publication is the volume Contemporary Germany and the Fourth Wave of Far-Right Politics. From the Streets to Parliament with contributions of leading German and international experts. We organize events such as academic conferences, workshops, and public lectures. When co-organizing tbe major international conference "Dimensions of Right-Wing Extremism in Europe" in Bielefeld in February 2024 we benefited from cooperation with renowned German and international academic institutions.
Transferring scientific findings to a wider audience is a pivotal focus of REXKLIMA. We achieve this through many public lectures and events, such as at the Akademie für Politische Bildung Tutzing, Deutscher Naturschutzring, Foreign Office and House of Parliament of the United Kingdom and Staatsschauspiel Dresden and various universities. We also reach a broader audience through media articles and mentions such as in the Financial Times, MDR, NBC, Süddeutsche Zeitung or Wallstreet Journal. REXKLIMA benefits from regular exchange with a variety of visiting scholars who join us in Dresden for workshops and lectures - which allows us to maintain in-depth exchange with the German and international scientific community.
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