Extremist Manipulations of Apocalyptic Fears: A Case Study of de-Christianisation and Islamisation Discourses on the Romanian New Right Blog

Abstract

This paper illustrates how extremist manipulations of collective and individual emotions can construct a world that is feared to come to an end. The case study of the blog of the Romanian New Right, blog.nouadreapta.org, has revealed discursively strong apocalyptic scenarios concerning Europe, through qualitative content analysis. The recurrent themes on the blog — the Islamisation and the de-Christianisation of Europe — signal the perception of an irreversible cultural process, never before experienced, and terrifying in its thoroughness. This analysis suggests, then, that attention should be paid to expressions of religious anxiety, in a world where the sentiments toward one’s identity and group have spread over spaces by new means of media and communication. When social identityis no longer dependent on territories and spaces, categories overlap and the need to belong becomes violent, a dynamic apparent through the description, illustration and interpretation of extremist apocalyptic constructions.