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  • Kalakal@piefed.socialtoEurope@feddit.org•Germany's far-right AfD hits 25% in poll, just behind conservatives | dpa internationalEnglish
    7·
    13 days ago

    I’d like to add some context for people reading this comment.

    This analysis by CHOICE was funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a Washington-based private non-profit that has served as a frontline actor of American soft power. NED has been funded by John M. Olin foundation and the Bradley foundation, both conservative organizations. While NED claims its interests lie in the spread of liberal democracy, it has come under fire by several people from both within and outside the US for paternalistic policies and meddling in other countries’ affairs. Links to that here below: https://books.google.com/books?id=yLWOAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA311#v=onepage&q=&f=false https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Endowment_for_Democracy#cite_note-61

    According to sociologist William Robinson, NED funds during the Reagan years were “ultimately used for five overlapping pseudo-covert activities: leadership training for pro-American elites, promotion of pro-American educational systems and mass media, strengthening the ‘institutions of democracy’ by funding pro-American organizations in the target state, propaganda, and the development of transnational elite networks.”

    “those who spearheaded creation of NED have long acknowledged it was part of an effort to move from covert to overt efforts to foster democracy” and cited as evidence a 1991 interview in which then-NED president Allen Weinstein said, “A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA.”

    Political scientist Lindsey A. O’Rourke writes that the Reagan-era NED played a key role in U.S. efforts “to promote democratic transitions in Chile, Haiti, Liberia, Nicaragua, Panama, the Philippines, Poland, and Suriname,” but did so to promote the success of pro-U.S. parties, not just to promote democracy, and did not support communist or socialist opposition parties. The North American Congress on Latin America says that the NED engages in a "a very particular form of low-intensity democracy chained to pro-market economics–in countries from Nicaragua to the Philippines, Ukraine to Haiti, overturning unfriendly ‘authoritarian’ governments (many of which the United States had previously supported) and replacing them with handpicked pro-market allies.

    NED is an instrument of American soft power that is mainly interested in promoting a US led world order that centers “liberal” democracy and pro-business policies. It has a bias, an agenda, and the means to carry them out. Having “democracy” in the name doesn’t mean that they are altruistic in nature.

    One thing that the analysis posted above does not show is the role of the American CPAC in supporting and rallying the European far right through CPAC Hungary, which has become a hub for parties like Vox and the Dutch Party for Freedom. https://www.cpac.org/post/cpac-will-return-to-hungary-for-third-year-in-2024

    The analysis is made to place the blame for a rising European fascist wave on China, while it ignores key factors in the formation of these groups. Steve Bannon, Tucker Carlson, Pat Buchanan, and Richard Spencer are just some examples of American pundits and politicians that have been active in Europe, creating a ground floor for fascism to rise in the continent.

    The US has all sorts of organizations that have been actively helping right wing movements around the globe for decades. From operation Gladio in Italy during the mid-20th century, to active organizations working to shape foreign policy in America’s favor today. Hell, even the NRA has been involved in promoting right wing thought around the world. https://apnews.com/article/1c3d04173b6343bd8ffa45a3487c2e28 https://www.americasquarterly.org/fulltextarticle/the-nras-hemispheric-reach/ https://aoav.org.uk/2025/the-national-rifle-associations-international-funding-and-activities-examined/

    Why isn’t this shown in the “analysis”? because that’s not an analysis at all. It’s a puff piece designed place the finger on China, while whitewashing American influence abroad. This is not good journalism, and it certainly should not be a trusted source of information.