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{{Short description|Inflexible stance on a political issue}}{{Other uses}}{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}In politics, hardline or hard-line is an adjective describing a stance on an issue that is inflexible and not subject to compromise. A hardliner is a person holding such views.WEB,www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hard-line, Definition of HARD-LINE, 8 February 2024, WEB,www.oed.com/view/Entry/423370?redirectedFrom=hard+line#eid, Hard line, n. (And int.) and adj, WEB,www.dictionary.com/browse/hard-liner, the definition of hard-liner, www.dictionary.com, en, 12 September 2018, The stance is usually far from the centrist view.WEB,dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/hard-line, HARD LINE | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary, People, policies, and laws can be considered hardline.NEWS,www.nytimes.com/2018/06/21/us/politics/house-immigration-bills-dreamers-daca-family-separation.html, House Rejects Hard-Line Immigration Bill and Delays Vote on Compromise, The New York Times, 21 June 2018, 12 September 2018, en, Kaplan, Thomas, Fandos, Nicholas, WEB,www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-news-trump-brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court-20180709-story.html, President Trump nominates hard-line conservative Brett Kavanaugh to Supreme Court, New York Daily News, 9 July 2018, NEWS,www.washingtonpost.com/world/2018/08/28/irans-hard-line-former-president-has-reemerged-twitter-hes-tweeting-about-serena-lebron/, Iran’s hard-line former president has reemerged on Twitter, and he’s tweeting about Serena and LeBron, The Washington Post, A hardliner may be either a reactionary or a revolutionary. Synonyms for hardliner include diehard, hawk, extremist, radical, fanatic, or zealot. The term is almost always relative to the Overton window of a given time and place.

Examples by country

France

The French government has taken a hardline stance against terrorism.WEB,www.aljazeera.com/programmes/peopleandpower/2016/03/backlash-frances-hard-line-terror-160310080855190.html, Backlash: France’s New Hard Line Against Terrorism, Baux, Victoria, Al Jazeera, 12 September 2018, 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. Critics say the approach unfairly blames the Muslim community for radical extremists.NEWS,www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/struggling-to-prevent-terrorist-attacks-france-wants-to-reform-islam/2018/04/16/b81a20c6-1d67-11e8-98f5-ceecfa8741b6_story.html, Struggling to prevent terrorist attacks, France wants to ‘reform’ Islam, Washington Post, en, 12 September 2018,

Iran

Ebrahim Raisi, a Shi’ite cleric and prominent politician, ran as a hardline challenger to President Rouhani in 2017 and was Rouhani’s main challenger.WEB,foreignpolicy.com/2017/04/10/rouhani-gets-a-hardline-challenger-for-iranian-presidency/, Rouhani Gets a Hard-line Challenger for Iranian Presidency, Mellen, Ruby, Foreign Policy, en, 13 October 2018, He ran primarily on economic reforms and increasing distance with the West.WEB,www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/05/iranians-cast-vote-presidential-election-170519052130053.html, Iranians vote in presidential election, www.aljazeera.com, 13 October 2018, He later ran again for President in 2021 and won the election by 61.9% of the popular vote, succeeding Rouhani, who was term-limited.Raisi -- Which institution was the most accurate predictor of election results? tabnak.ir Retrieved 23 June 2021

Russia

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.NEWS,themoscowtimes.com/news/3-in-5-russians-believe-western-criticism-should-be-ignored-56081, 3 in 5 Russians Believe Western Criticism ‘Should Be Ignored’, 13 October 2018, en, 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

Brexit is a hardline position on relations with the European Union.NEWS,www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-44716815, Sturgeon: May must ‘face down’ Brexiteers, 5 July 2018, BBC News, 26 September 2018, en-GB, WEB,www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jul/16/theresa-may-ready-cave-in-hardline-brexiters-customs-demands, Theresa May caves in to hardline Brexiters’ demands, Stewart, Heather, Sabbagh, Dan, 16 July 2018, the Guardian, en, 26 September 2018, 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.WEB,trends.google.com/trends/story/GB_cu_EoBj9FIBAAAj9M_en, EU referendum, Google Trends, 26 September 2018,

United States

One of the more common issues that uses hardline or hardliner as a description is illegal immigration. For example, the United States House of Representatives had two bills in June 2018 about immigration to consider: the hardline and centrist options.WEB,www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/06/21/conservative-immigration-bill-fails-in-house-gop-leaders-delay-vote-on-compromise-measure.html, House GOP abruptly scraps planned vote on troubled immigration bill, saying it could pass next week, Fox News, 21 June 2018, The House failed to pass the centrist bill.NEWS,www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/reversing-course-last-minute-trump-calls-house-gop-pass-immigration-n886916, House overwhelmingly rejects compromise immigration bill despite Trump support, NBC News, 12 September 2018, en-US, The House did not vote on the more extreme bill.

Words implying hardline stances

Hawk

A hawk is someone who prefers an extreme or aggressive stance, typically on war.WEB,www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hawk, Definition of HAWK, www.merriam-webster.com, en, 13 October 2018, However, the term hawk can also be used for other issues, like deficit spending. John McCain, an American senator and 2008 presidential nominee, was a considered a war hawk because of his policies on the Middle East.WEB,www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/08/john-mccain-hero-home-hawk-middle-east-180826065142381.html, John McCain: Hero at home, hawk in Middle East, www.aljazeera.com, 13 October 2018, John R. Bolton, the national security advisor for President Trump, was also described as such.NEWS,www.nytimes.com/2019/09/10/us/politics/john-bolton-national-security-adviser-trump.html, Trump Ousts John Bolton as National Security Adviser, Baker, Peter, 10 September 2019, The New York Times, 23 January 2020, en-US, 0362-4331, WEB,www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/23/john-bolton-hawk-itching-war, John Bolton is a hawk itching for war – and few are there to stop him {{!, Walter Shapiro|last=Shapiro|first=Walter|date=23 March 2018|website=the Guardian|language=en|access-date=13 October 2018}}

See also

• Amity–enmity complex
• Belief perseverance
• Fundamentalism
• Groupthink
• Ideocracy
• Ideology
• Siege mentality
• State collapse
• The Anatomy of Revolution
• The True Believer

References

{{reflist}}{{Political spectrum}}{{Political ideologies}}