Hardline
Inpolitics,hardlineorhard-lineis an adjective describing a stance on an issue that is inflexible and not subject to compromise. A hardliner is a person holding such views.[1][2][3]The stance is usually far from thecentristview.[4]People, policies, and laws can be considered hardline.[5][6][7]A hardliner may be either areactionaryor arevolutionary.Synonyms for hardliner include diehard, hawk, extremist, radical, fanatic, or zealot. The term is almost always relative to theOverton windowof a given time and place.
Examples by country
[edit]France
[edit]The French government has taken a hardline stance against terrorism.[8]France removed restrictions on raiding houses of suspected terrorists, although only five cases have been brought to court while over four thousand searches were conducted.[8]Critics say the approach unfairly blames the Muslim community for radical extremists.[9]
Iran
[edit]Ebrahim Raisi,aShi'itecleric and prominent politician, ran as a hardline challenger toPresident Rouhaniin2017and was Rouhani's main challenger.[10]He ran primarily on economic reforms and increasing distance with the West.[11] He later ran again for President in2021and won the election by 61.9% of the popular vote[a],succeeding Rouhani, who wasterm-limited.[12]
Russia
[edit]After increased sanctions by Western countries, a poll from 2016 recorded that fifty-nine percent of Russians did not want their government to change its behavior.[13]The respondents felt that either Westerns wanted to harm Russia, hold it to standards they did not live up to, or were simply ignorant of Russian reasoning for actions.
United Kingdom
[edit]Brexitis a hardline position on relations with theEuropean Union.[14][15]The United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union to preserve its sovereignty, which was dubbed Brexit. After the vote, the two top searches on Google about the European Union were the implications of leaving the European Union and what "EU" (short for European Union) meant.[16]
United States
[edit]One of the more common issues that uses hardline or hardliner as a description isillegal immigration.For example, theUnited States House of Representativeshad two bills in June 2018 about immigration to consider: the hardline and centrist options.[17]The House failed to pass the centrist bill.[18]The House did not vote on the more extreme bill.
Words implying hardline stances
[edit]Hawk
[edit]Ahawkis someone who prefers an extreme or aggressive stance, typically onwar.[19]However, the termhawkcan also be used for other issues, likedeficit spending.John McCain,an Americansenatorand2008 presidential nominee,was a considered a war hawk because of his policies on theMiddle East.[20]John R. Bolton,thenational security advisorforPresident Trump,was also described as such.[21][22]
See also
[edit]- Amity–enmity complex
- Belief perseverance
- Fundamentalism
- Groupthink
- Ideocracy
- Ideology
- Siege mentality
- State collapse
- The Anatomy of Revolution
- The True Believer
Notes
[edit]- ^Including blank/invalid votes
References
[edit]- ^"Definition of HARD-LINE".8 February 2024.
- ^"Hard line, n. (And int.) and adj".
- ^"the definition of hard-liner".dictionary.Retrieved12 September2018.
- ^"HARD LINE | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary".
- ^Kaplan, Thomas; Fandos, Nicholas (21 June 2018)."House Rejects Hard-Line Immigration Bill and Delays Vote on Compromise".The New York Times.Retrieved12 September2018.
- ^"President Trump nominates hard-line conservative Brett Kavanaugh to Supreme Court".New York Daily News.9 July 2018.
- ^"Iran's hard-line former president has reemerged on Twitter, and he's tweeting about Serena and LeBron".The Washington Post.
- ^abBaux, Victoria."Backlash: France's New Hard Line Against Terrorism".Al Jazeera.Retrieved12 September2018.
- ^"Struggling to prevent terrorist attacks, France wants to 'reform' Islam".Washington Post.Retrieved12 September2018.
- ^Mellen, Ruby."Rouhani Gets a Hard-line Challenger for Iranian Presidency".Foreign Policy.Retrieved13 October2018.
- ^"Iranians vote in presidential election".aljazeera.Retrieved13 October2018.
- ^Raisi -- Which institution was the most accurate predictor of election results?tabnak.ir Retrieved 23 June 2021
- ^"3 in 5 Russians Believe Western Criticism 'Should Be Ignored'".Retrieved13 October2018.
- ^"Sturgeon: May must 'face down' Brexiteers".BBC News.5 July 2018.Retrieved26 September2018.
- ^Stewart, Heather; Sabbagh, Dan (16 July 2018)."Theresa May caves in to hardline Brexiters' demands".the Guardian.Retrieved26 September2018.
- ^"EU referendum".Google Trends.Retrieved26 September2018.
- ^"House GOP abruptly scraps planned vote on troubled immigration bill, saying it could pass next week".Fox News.21 June 2018.
- ^"House overwhelmingly rejects compromise immigration bill despite Trump support".NBC News.Retrieved12 September2018.
- ^"Definition of HAWK".merriam-webster.Retrieved13 October2018.
- ^"John McCain: Hero at home, hawk in Middle East".aljazeera.Retrieved13 October2018.
- ^Baker, Peter (10 September 2019)."Trump Ousts John Bolton as National Security Adviser".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved23 January2020.
- ^Shapiro, Walter (23 March 2018)."John Bolton is a hawk itching for war – and few are there to stop him | Walter Shapiro".the Guardian.Retrieved13 October2018.