Die Grenzen der Demokratie

Political reactions to right-wing extremism are a seismograph for a society’s democratic culture. A glance at Austria suggests that far-right politics is not limited to the so-called fringe but can actually be found at the centre of society. Therefore, the debate over that issue does not only imply the setting of outward boundaries, but it also includes the struggle for the democratic and, by extension, its normative foundations. This book examines parliamentary debates on right-wing extremism and far-right politics in the Austrian National Council during the period 1999 to 2013. Matthias Falter reconstructs four main argumentative frames and analyses their specific effects on the contestation of far-right ideology and politics.