Growing up in Yugoslavia in the 1970s, I was mesmerized by a nationalistic TV series called Otpisani in which partizani (guerilla partisan fighters) Tihi and Prle fought to end fascist tyranny in their country. World War II had ended some 30 years earlier, and Europe was still stifling the remnants of the old Third Reich amid a Cold War that seemed—at least then—likely to drag on. “Smrt Fascizma, Sloboda Narod” was the TV serial’s mantra: “Death to fascism, liberty for the people.” 

But fascism, and the politics of the far-right, never truly went out of fashion. Fifty years later, a wave of anti-immigration zeal is sweeping through Europe, North America, and elsewhere. Fascism doesn’t announce itself as it may have done thirty years ago—with fanfare, street protests, or by burning down housing units allocated to immigrants in Europe. It has adapted, embracing democratic institutions and the right to assembly and free speech. It has moved out of the shadows, replacing whispers and beer hall vitriol with composed, media-savvy speeches in public spaces. It has replaced the regalia of order and concentration camps with Armani suits, polished shoes, and warm smiles as it asks for your vote.

A century after the then-nascent Nazis made full use of free elections, fascism is once again trying to woo the voting public through smart advertising, innocuous Instagram pages promoting nationalism and masculinity, and free trade slogans.

In 2020, the right-wing populist Austrian Freedom Party (FPO) used an aggressive anti-immigrant campaign to win votes. “No way. You will not make Austria Home”, was used to promote tighter border measures to ensure that refugees don’t stream into Austria from neighboring countries. The party, established by a former Nazi SS officer in 1956, boasts itself as a defender of Austrian national identity. In September 2024, the FPO won a general election but was shut out of a ruling coalition formed by the Conservatives (OVP) and the Center-Left (SPO). Since then, its popularity has surged to unprecedented levels. 

Across the border, in Hungary, former liberal politician Viktor Orban rose to power by campaigning on an anti-immigrant, Hungarians-first platform. Part of his campaign focused on the fears that Hungarians would eventually be ‘replaced’ by other races—chiefly, immigrant Muslims. One popular campaign slogan that gained traction during his 16-year-rule was “We want Hungarian Children”, aiming to encourage white Hungarian families to have more children.

European and global populist movements look to Orban’s ultra-conservative anti-LGBTQ policies for inspiration. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly lauded Orban as a fierce defender of European identity and vanguard against immigration. Orban, whom the European press have labeled as Trump’s best friend in Europe, has championed the American President’s criticism of EU liberal policies. On February 5, 2026 Trump yet again endorsed Orban in Hungary’s upcoming April election.

The alarming power these populist politicians hold over the general public has been growing steadily. In its Resolution 2128, the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly warned of a rising number of incidents involving “physical violence, labour exploitation, trafficking, sexual harassment and abuse, discrimination and hate speech”.

In addition to decrying the lack of momentum to combat this violence, the resolution also shed light on the abuse and human rights violations of women and children migrants in detention centers and holding facilities. It warned that “anti-migrant rhetoric has been widely used by populist parties and mass media, provoking stigmatisation, intolerance and xenophobia”.

It’s a simple formula: during times of economic hardship, parties with anti-immigrant foundations become more popular. An Associated Press study of European anti-immigrant rhetoric found that parties who call for extremist measures—such as mass deportations of immigrants—are the ones likely to top opinion polls. It names Reform UK and Germany’s AfD as examples of populist political movements that have recently surged in the polls.

That is why we dedicated this issue to highlight the dangers in the rise of the right; a rise (or reich) which has the potential to bring about severe consequences, both in terms of human rights and international policy. 

In her article on fascist imagery, distinguished professor of history at the City University of New York Dagmar Herzog links anti-Jewish pornography from the Third Reich with contemporary political imagery used to sexually fearmonger Germans into xenophobic voting at the ballot box.

“The fundamental themes of AfD messaging follow from this Nazi paradigm: vehement contempt for the ideals of human equality and solidarity and viciousness toward any and all groups identified as vulnerable; a profusion of racialized scapegoats for complicated economic and social dynamics; and a persistent concern with appealing to narcissistic longings for national and personal greatness,” Herzog writes. “Everything is about the promise of feeling superior. Even the loopily ludicrous guidance for boosting young white males’ self-esteem fits this overall picture.”

Narrative building is key to proponents of fascism and defenders of democracy, as writer and researcher Mariam Mohsen explores in her review of Omar El Akkad’s 2017 novel American War. As state violence against civilians increases in the United States, Mohsen draws our attention to the dire warning El Akkad expresses in his dystopian prediction of a future America ravaged by civil war and climate change. 

“Reading American War today feels like peering into a funhouse mirror of our present. The book was meant as speculation, but in 2026 it reads more worryingly like prophecy and political parable. El Akkad himself has described the novel as ‘an account of a future US ravaged by war and climate disaster’, born of his years covering America’s wars abroad as a journalist. Now those wars’ echoes are at all Americans’ doorstep. The scenes on American streets—armed troops in Los Angeles, protesters clashing with federal forces in Minneapolis—uncannily resemble the novel’s descriptions of a nation at war with itself,” she writes.

But how did the pillars of equality, human rights, and rights of man (and woman) crumble so quickly under the brown boot of fascism? 

Distinguished Canadian scholar Henry Giroux points to an education system infiltrated by fascist government forces who have systematically dismantled its liberal and inclusive components from within.

Giroux writes: “To reclaim education as a public good is, therefore, to reclaim the means through which consciousness becomes political, and politics becomes collective. The question before us is not merely whether education matters, but whether it can still awaken a public imagination capable of turning thought into resistance, and resistance into mass action. This politics of disinformation does not circulate in a vacuum. It is amplified, legitimized, and normalized by a powerful media ecosystem that routinely privileges propaganda over truth.”

As education falters in the face of fascist government, right-wing sentiments have also rediscovered support in sports, especially within European football clubs. Some Ultras, hyper-dedicated football fans, are using the group mentality of their shared love of football to build bases of fascist supporters. Stadiums are increasingly witnessing racist chants and far-right symbols from their most impassioned fans.The beautiful game, it seems, is turning ugly, as former AUC journalism professor Gabriele Cosentino warns. 

Cosentino sounds the alarm about Europe’s football stadiums “becoming grounds—in Italy and elsewhere in Europe—where young people are groomed and recruited to join far right organizations and militias”. Taking advantage of the excitement and passion that the youth has for their favourite teams, extremists with neo-fascist and neo-nazi agendas can exploit vulnerable people and entice them to join their ranks, he writes.

The essays in this issue aim to explain why fascism has reemerged with such force and lay a path for how to resist it. As Tihi and Prle fought to end tyranny, so too must we. Smrt Fascizma.

Cairo Review Managing Editor,

Firas Al-Atraqchi