To what extent is it still accurate to argue that we lack a generally accepted (or even acceptable) definition of the concept of right-wing extremism/radicalism?
Right-wing extremism/radicalism: reconstructing the concept
Of course, most authors have better things to do than devote half of their article to questions of definitions and, by their moving swiftly on, we have learned much about the phenomenon of right-wing extremism/radicalism, its complexities and its ever-changing nature. What is more, a perfunctory mention of the absence of agreement on definition is quite rational given that a number of scholars have devoted considerable attention to definitional issues and still, so we are told, no consensus emerges. In short, given an apparent lack of success to date, there seems little incentive to embark yet again on what Gerring calls ‘the Sisyphean task of legislating a “good” definition’.
But are we in fact over-egging it? That is, to what extent is it still accurate to argue that we lack a generally accepted (or even acceptable) definition of the concept of right-wing extremism/radicalism?
Has there not been some growing consensus in this field of study over how to define this concept? If not, then why not? What is it that we continue to disagree about? And how might we move forward in searching for a consensus,if one is even possible?