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Dr. James Downes contributed some important analysis for the leading Spanish Newspaper El Pais on populism in Europe. This is part of a global study of 50 other world leading academic experts on populism globally & CUHK as an institution is included in the report.
Title: “Donde se situa vox en la ultraderecha europea” (Findings from an Expert Survey on Populism in Europe)
Some brief assessments of classifying the Modern Far Right that Dr. Downes made in English below: (different to the Spanish below).
My overall Definition of the Far Right Party Family is as follows:
Contemporary Far Right parties (I treat the term “Far Right Party Families” as an umbrella term, which both (a) PRR & (b) ERW Parties are grouped under) in Europe are often grouped into two distinct ideological wings. It is first important to differentiate between populist radical right parties (PRR) and extreme right-wing parties (ERW). Drawing on key scholars such as Cas Mudde, there are three key features that characterize PRR parties. PRR parties have a nativist, authoritarian and largely populist ideology. Populism for PRR parties means that they portray themselves as the ‘outsiders’ in society and seek to overturn the existing political elite in society, through widespread anti-political establishment messages.
Importantly, PRR parties seek to work under the democratic confines of democracy and do not seek to overturn democracy. They do however reject the ‘liberal’ component of democracy through their opposition and intolerance towards immigrants/ethnic out groups such as Muslims. Key examples include the AfD in Germany. In contrast, ERW parties tend to reject being democratically elected and many of these parties’ historical roots can be traced back to post-world war II neo-fascism. Golden Dawn in Greece is one such example of an ERW party in contemporary European politics.
Some of the analysis from Dr. Downes below in Spanish:
(1) "Estos partidos, “en general, tienden a tener las mismas políticas y estrategias ideológicas sobre inmigración, al tratar de proteger a los blancos, el grupo étnico principal, y reducir el número de inmigrantes”, pero defienden “políticas muy diferentes en materia socioeconómica”, señala James F. Downes, profesor de la Universidad China de Hong Kong e investigador del Centro para el Análisis de la Derecha Radical."
(2) Algunos expertos consideran que determinados partidos de los mencionados están en el límite del ultraderechismo o, incluso, que en ningún caso deberían incluirse en este análisis.
El profesor Downes, por ejemplo, cree que están en ese límite el Foro para la Democracia holandés (para él, “nacionalista conservador”) y el Partido Popular Suizo: “No es todavía plenamente un partido de derecha populista radical”, dice...
《一》 凡擬於下學年申請轉入政治與行政系為主修之同學，請在CUSIS提交表格和成績表之副本 (香港中學文憑及各學年成績表)
《二》 申請如獲考慮，本系將以電話通知申請人參加面試。
申請日期：六月十一日至七月七日〈逾期恕不受理〉
面試日期：七月九日
政治與行政學系啟
二零一九年五月十八日
Video of the talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcU7CYFdSXg&list=PLWSDciIb_3k7wxrx61ItXDYbhAmDSiU3u&index=4
The Faculty is going to host the “SocSci Viewpoint – Covid-19 Talk Series” through the video conferencing platform Zoom. Scholars from different disciplines in the Faculty will give their views on various aspects of the pandemic. There will be Q&A sessions at the end of the talk. Prof. Ma Ngok will be the speaker of the talk on 5 June 2020 to share his point of view about the pandemic and the september legislative council election.
疫症與立法會選舉 The Pandemic and the September Legislative Council Election
Speaker: Prof. Ma Ngok
Date: 5 June 2020
Time: 4 - 4:45pm
一個政府如何應對危機，往往會影響其民望及在選舉中的表現。疫症對香港的打擊、政府的應對，和不同黨派的部署和回應，會如何影響九月立法會選舉的選情? 有甚麼因素會影響九月立法會選舉的結果? 政治因素又如何影響政府應對疫情?
A government’s performance during a crisis usually affects its popularity and electoral fortunes. How would the COVID-19 pandemic affect the popularity of Hong Kong government, and how would that affect the Legislative Council elections in September? What are the calculations and strategies of different parties, and what are the most important factors affecting the election result
Language: Cantonese
For more details: [Eng] https://socsc.cuhk.edu.hk/covid19talks/ ; [Chi] https://socsc.cuhk.edu.hk/tc/covid19talks/
Registration: https://cloud.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk/webform/view.php?id=9489017
A Thematic Talk and Consultation Session for international students organized by Office of Admission and Financial Aid will be held on 19 May 2020. Dr. James Downes, our head of Admission and PR Committee, will be the speaker in the session. Please find more details below.
Topic: Strategies for a Successful Interview by Faculty of Social Science
Outline: Dr. James F. Downes from the Faculty of Social Science will share his extensive experiences on interviews in different formats. Learn first-hand from our admissions team on what university admissions interviews are like, alongside how it plays an important role in the admission decision.
Date: 19 May 2020 (Tue)
Time: 7:00pm - 8:00pm (HK Time)
Registration: http://admission.cuhk.edu.hk/events.html (After registration, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about how to join the webinar.)
