Published Date: 10.06.2026
“Deathly Hollows” of Austerity Policies: Precarity, the Rise of the Far-Right, and the Risk of Social Rupture
Annotation
The article examines the rapid rightward turn and the resurgence of populist forces in the changing balance of political power in the global context of a polycrisis, a state of systemic instability characterized by the interplay of economic, political, environmental, and geopolitical destabilizing processes that mutually reinforce each other. In such circumstances, the historically established institutional mechanisms designed to respond to isolated and time-limited crises are unable to effectively address the long-term and structurally interconnected threats facing the global community.
| Type | Article |
| Information | Serbian-Russian scientific journal № 01/2026 |
| Pages | 27-43 |
| DOI | 10.18572/3034-3798-2026-1-2-27-43 |
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