Golden Dawn's Global Ambitions

Greece's far-right Golden Dawn party is trying to shore up support in areas outside its normal support base — namely, other countries. Emboldened by its recent electoral success, the group has been trying to set up chapters abroad for the past year. However, the mandate of these chapters has changed somewhat. Whereas Golden Dawn had hoped to capitalize on the momentum of the 2012 elections, it will now likely try to broaden its support base, raise funds and reclaim some of the popularity it lost after having been implicated in the death of a anti-fascist musician earlier this year.

But Golden Dawn will find only marginal success in its forays abroad. Its popularity has been facilitated by Greece's social, political and economic crises, which tend to nurture extremism. Countries unencumbered by such crises, such as the United States and Australia, may prove less tolerant of Golden Dawn's nationalist and anti-immigrant beliefs. So while the group will probably always find sympathy in Greece and perhaps throughout Europe, its message will gain less traction elsewhere in the world.