Far-right populist politics have arrived in the mainstream. 

We are now witnessing the shameless normalization of a political discourse built around nationalism, xenophobia, racism, sexism, antisemitism and Islamophobia. But what does this change mean? What caused it? And how does far-right populist discourse work? 

The Politics of Fear traces the trajectory of far-right politics from the margins of the political landscape to its very centre. It explores the social and historical mechanisms at play, and expertly ties these to the "micro-politics" of far-right language and discourse. 

From speeches to cartoons to social media posts, Ruth Wodak systematically analyzes the texts and images used by these groups, laying bare the strategies, rhetoric and half-truths the far-right employ. The revised second edition of this best-selling book includes:

• A range of vignettes analyzing specific instances of far-right discourse in detail.
• Expanded discussion of the "normalization" of far-right discourse.
• A new chapter exploring the challenges to liberal democracy.
• An updated glossary of far-right parties and movements.
• More discussion of the impact of social media on the rise of the far-right.

Critical, analytical and impassioned, The Politics of Fear is essential reading for anyone looking to understand how far-right and populist politics have moved into the mainstream, and what we can do about it. 

"A must read for those interested in intersectionality in far-right populist discourse. It covers the politics of racialization, gender, nationalism, populism and authoritarianism, unites their intersections within the framework of a discursively constructed far-right populist ideology, and traces how this ideology challenges the traditional script of liberal democracy." - Journal of Language and Politics

"Wodak’s rich and detailed descriptions of right-wing populist rhetoric and identification of its key tropes, continuities, frames, strategies, and topoi make this book indispensable for any discourse-based approach to the topic. It is certainly possible to theorise the current conjuncture differently, but the depth of her engagement with far-right politicians and their utterances across national contexts and time frames is profoundly valuable." - Language in Society

"Wodak’s work focuses on the ‘micro-politics’ of the far-right and ‘how they actually produce and reproduce their ideologies and exclusionary agenda in everyday politics, in the (social) media, in campaigning, in posters, slogans and speeches’. Wodak convincingly argues that all far-right parties construct scapegoats out of racialized people which ‘manifests as a politics of fear’… This approach integrates very well with the ideational approach to populism and recognises the performative and ideational dimensions of the populist far-right.

The second edition explains how these once fringe actors have become mainstreamed and normalized in contemporary society… Highly recommended for scholars and citizens looking to understand the micro-politics of the contemporary far-right and the processes that have brought them to the mainstream." - Populism

"Wodak’s rich and detailed descriptions of right-wing populist rhetoric and identification of its key tropes, continuities, frames, strategies, and topoi make this book indispensable for any discourse-based approach to the topic...the depth of her engagement with far-right politicians and their utterances across national contexts and time frames is profoundly valuable. " - Language in Society