Georgios Samaras

Panorama - The Truth About Asylum Hotels Asylum hotels have dominated the news this summer, sparking protests, dividing communities and forcing the government to promise quicker action. But what’s the truth about them?

This BBC panorama episode is a frustrating watch

It makes clear that the way the issue is covered is wrong (factually and politically) and fuelled by racism rather than "legitimate concerns"

And yet they still end up on the fence somewhat

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

Always available for a chat with @zackpolanski.bsky.social !

🔊 "They find the idea of an open society quite difficult to understand, and that pushes them to extreme positions."

🎧 On the next episode of the School for Government podcast, @gsamaras.bsky.social discusses the far-right radicalisation of young men ➡️ www.kcl.ac.uk/news/the-sch...

Thank you so much!

I went on @channel4news.bsky.social to stress that migration is a top-down construct, weaponised by the state to target the vulnerable. Far-right marches, driven by hatred of minorities, are being normalised and the government's complicity risks violence. Full vid: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxhB...

Fascists demonstrating yesterday pretend to be an alternative to the system while having the unwavering support of the nominally centre left and right parties in this country, the sympathetic ear of the mainstream media and the back up of tech billionaires

But sure, they're "left behind" rebels...

Channel 4 News - Sat 13 Sep 2025 Channel 4's flagship news programme. Including the weather.

Good to see my colleague @gsamaras.bsky.social on Channel 4 News discussing the dangers posed by the far-right racists marching through London today - and the need for the government to push back on their hatred and lies. [about 8 minutes in]

www.channel4.com/programmes/c...

Summer School - Reactionary Politics Research Network

Our @reacpolrn.bsky.social summer school starts tomorrow and it feels again far too timely

While our research deals with utterly grim issues in utterly grim contexts, I hope this will again be an opportunity to create a sense of community and solidarity ❤️

reacpol.net/summer-schoo...

How Nigel Farage’s biopolitics captured Westminster Reform UK’s migration proposals prove that the party hasn’t just joined the debate – it owns it

How Nigel Farage’s biopolitics captured Westminster

Reform UK, which has a grand total of four MPs, was just given an uninterrupted platform for an hour and a half on the BBC and Sky News channels, in order to talk about its plans for mass deportations

When was the last time the Greens (with four MPs) or the Lib Dems (with 72) were given the same?

The pretence of the cordon sanitaire: non-collaboration as a distraction from discursive congruence Much has been written about how mainstream parties respond to far-right challengers in liberal democracies. Whereas some mainstream parties have become more open to forming coalitions with far-righ...

New article out!

@luke-shuttleworth.bsky.social,
@k8ebrown.bsky.social & I teamed up to explore whether the concept of 'cordon sanitaire' remains useful in the current stage of mainstreaming of far right politics

Read the full article, open access, here

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www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Again: shock.

Meet the political movement that’s too right wing for Nigel Farage Restore Britain wants to shift the Westminster discourse rightward — without becoming a party.

Kick off your week by reading my @politico.eu analysis of independent MP Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain movement — which aims to shift Westminster's Overton window rightwards without becoming a political party. But will it be crowded out by Reform UK?
www.politico.eu/article/meet...

Interview: Extreme-right leadership and communication tactics behind bars in Greece (Georgios Samaras) - Reactionary Politics Research Network This interview is based on Georgios Samaras's article 'Hide and seek: extreme-right leadership and communication tactics behind bars in Greece' (2025)

Short but important interview with @gsamaras.bsky.social about Europe's most successful neo-Nazi party, and the conclusions that Europe should draw 👇

Hide and seek: extreme-right leadership and communication tactics behind bars in Greece This study critically examines how the Greek extreme-right harnesses persuasive communication and tactical campaigning under severe constraints, focusing on Ilias Kasidiaris – a former Golden Dawn ...

You can find Georgios' research article, which this interview is based on, here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Interview: Extreme-right leadership and communication tactics behind bars in Greece (Georgios Samaras) - Reactionary Politics Research Network This interview is based on Georgios Samaras's article 'Hide and seek: extreme-right leadership and communication tactics behind bars in Greece' (2025)

📣New interview📣

@gsamaras.bsky.social discusses the Greek neo-Nazi party, Golden Dawn, and the limitations of legal repression in tackling the far right.

reacpol.net/golden-dawn/

a still of mahmoud khalil as he exited ice detention. he’s wearing a long sleeve khaki button up and a white and black keffiyeh wrapped around his neck. he’s got a big smile on his face and his fist raise in the air, defiant and proud.

Mahmoud Khalil is free.

If Nigel Farage becomes the next prime minister, it won’t be for long – here’s why

🔎 IN FOCUS | After a week of chaos, Reform has a new chair and a leader insisting the party is on track, but the signs are there that this is a party not ready to be in charge – whatever the polls say, writes government expert Georgios Samaras

If Nigel Farage becomes the next prime minister, it won’t be for long – here’s why After a week of chaos, Reform has a new chair and a leader insisting the party is on track, but the signs are there that this is a party not ready to be in charge – whatever the polls say, writes gove...

"Strategic misjudgements and internal disputes have become particularly evident in the aftermath of the May 2025 local elections."

✍️ Check out @gsamaras.bsky.social's long read for @the-independent.com on the turmoil within Reform UK and the party's impact on the councils it now controls

If Nigel Farage becomes the next prime minister, it won’t be for long – here’s why After a week of chaos, Reform has a new chair and a leader insisting the party is on track, but the signs are there that this is a party not ready to be in charge – whatever the polls say, writes gove...

Curious why far-right parties implode from within? Head over to @the-independent.com to read my latest long read, where I analyse Reform UK and show why Farage will flop long before he even knocks on Number 10’s door www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

Great meeting you, Matthew. I look forward to our paths crossing again soon!

Interview: Researching and Understanding Far-Right Politics in Times of Mainstreaming (George Newth) - Reactionary Politics Research Network This interview is based on George Newth et al's article 'Researching and Understanding Far-Right Politics in Times of Mainstreaming' (2025)

📣New interview📣

@georgenewth.bsky.social discusses how to research, understand, and resist far-right politics in times of mainstreaming.

reacpol.net/far-right-ma...

The Guardian view on billionaire Britain: tax wealth fairly or face democratic unravelling | Editorial Editorial: Without bold reform which makes the rich pull their weight, rising inequality risks eroding public trust and fracturing social stability

"Politicians could take up Tax Justice UK’s idea for a 2% wealth tax on assets over £10m. Campaigners say this would raise £24bn annually – enough to begin repairing broken Britain. Oxfam says 78% of the public would support such a progressive levy".

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Democracy is being eroded in the very country where it was born: #Greece. In our latest magazine issue, @gsamaras.bsky.social examines how Prime Minister Kyriakos #Mitsotakis' administration is dismantling human rights and targeting the press:
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Trump is on a quest to poison global political culture Europe is at a turning point, where it can choose to reassert the ideals once pledged by the EU and confront the authoritarian brew emanating from U.S. If not now, when?

"...Trump is hell-bent on steamrolling cultural norms and silencing dissent, even if it hurls the world into another Great Depression."

@gsamaras.bsky.social, Assistant Prof of Public Policy writes for @politico.com

➡️ www.politico.eu/article/dona...

Trump is on a quest to poison global political culture Europe is at a turning point, where it can choose to reassert the ideals once pledged by the EU and confront the authoritarian brew emanating from U.S. If not now, when?

OPINION: With the US showing signs of political self-destruction, Europe is now poised to confront authoritarianism, if it so chooses.

It could unmask Trump’s far-right allies as embarrassingly inept on the economy, while sparking a renewed belief in democracy even as the darkness deepens.

My new open access publication is now available in Visual Studies. I examined four far-right parties in Greece, spanning from 2012 to 2024, exploring visual symbols, cues, and how hateful messages are disseminated through social media posts: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

France’s left is celebrating Le Pen’s conviction. But gloating will make it harder to beat the far right | Georgios Samaras Beware the backlash strategies used by Trump and Berlusconi. It is vital that the National Rally leader isn’t able to capitalise on this verdict, says academic Georgios Samaras

What does Marine Le Pen's conviction mean for France's National Rally party? Is she following a predictable playbook? What should left-wing parties do now?
@gsamaras.bsky.social of @policyatkings.bsky.social explores this in @theguardian.com ⬇️
#OurDividedPlanet www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

France’s left is celebrating Le Pen’s conviction. But gloating will make it harder to beat the far right | Georgios Samaras Beware the backlash strategies used by Trump and Berlusconi. It is vital that the National Rally leader isn’t able to capitalise on this verdict, says academic Georgios Samaras

"[T]he boundaries between global far-right movements are increasingly blurred, with their mobilisation tactics evolving rapidly. Democracies must confront this challenge head on and urgently unite against the far-right threat before it is too late." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

France’s left is celebrating Le Pen’s conviction. But gloating will make it harder to beat the far right | Georgios Samaras Beware the backlash strategies used by Trump and Berlusconi. It is vital that the National Rally leader isn’t able to capitalise on this verdict, says academic Georgios Samaras

"...we must not reproduce Le Pen’s argument that her conviction was a political attack...the courts exist to deliver justice, and no one is above the law."

@gsamaras.bsky.social, Assistant Prof of Public Policy at the School for Government, writes for the Guardian about Marie Le Pen's conviction