| Dear friend, The far right is on a roll. Donald Trump is racking up wins in the Republican primary in the United States. Benjamin Netanyahu is using the war in Gaza to extend his political control of Israel despite astronomically low approval ratings. And Vladimir Putin is preparing to steamroll to victory in the Russian elections in March. But perhaps the greatest opportunity for the far right lies in Europe. Far right parties are already in charge in Italy and Hungary. After winning elections last year, right-wing firebrand Geert Wilders is close to putting together a ruling coalition in the Netherlands. The far right is likely to win elections in Austria and Belgium this year. The real plum will come in June with the European Parliament elections. “The Identity and Democracy bloc, which includes the major French and German far-right parties, is projected to gain more than two dozen seats in the European parliamentary elections this June,” I write in my World Beat column this week. “The European Conservatives and Reformists bloc, which contains the Finnish, Polish, Spanish, and Swedish far-right parties, will also probably pick up a few seats. Throw in unaffiliated representatives from Orbán’s Fidesz party and that bloc could become the largest in the European parliament.” Elsewhere at Foreign Policy In Focus this week, Daniel Volman investigates how the Pentagon is funding social science research connected to Africa — and with little to show for it. And Liam Crisan examines the legacy of the land reform movement in Brazil on the 40th anniversary of the influential Landless Workers’ Movement. John Feffer
Director, FPIF | 