Antisemitic parties claimed to stand above all parties and replace the state itself

Evidence

Small as these first antisemitic parties were, they at once distinguished themselves from all other parties. They made the original claim that they were not a party among parties but a party “above all parties.” In the class-and party-ridden nation-state, only the state and the government had ever claimed to be above all parties and classes, to represent the nation as a whole. Parties were admittedly groups whose deputies represented the interests of their voters. Even though they fought for power, it was implicitly understood that it was up to the government to establish a balance between the conflicting interests and their representatives. The antisemitic parties’ claim to be “above all parties” announced clearly their aspiration to become the representative of the whole nation, to get exclusive power, to take possession of the state machinery, to substitute themselves for the state. Since, on the other hand, they continued to be organized as a party, it was also clear that they wanted state power as a party, so that their voters would actually dominate the nation. — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 148

Categorization

• XREF: Directly feeds the Islamophobia toolkit: the ‘party above all parties’ claim is a structural mechanism for how a movement substitutes itself for the state — parallels readings on how exclusionary movements claim representative totality. Also echoes Milgrom/Coase work on institutions substituting for state functions, though inverted. — connects to: Hungarian party tolerated constructive opposition and real contested elections internally — Anna M. Grzymala-Busse, Redeeming The Communist Past: The…, 314