Delkoran red scare

The Delkoran red scare (Delkoran: Kommunistforskrækkelse or Rød skræk) refers to two periods of Delkoran history marked by widespread fear of communism and anarchism. The first occurred in the 1910s, coinciding with the Ruvelkan Civil War internationally and the 1916 republican uprising domestically, and the second occurred in the 1940s, coinciding with the Megelanese civil war and the Liberation War internationally.

In both instances, an incumbent right-wing government encouraged and exploited the atmosphere of hysteria as a weapon against left-wing radicals and the labour movement. The first red scare caused internal splits that weakened both National Labor and the LO for a period, but its excesses caused a subsequent backlash. The second red scare had the opposite effect: it made leftist forces determined to avoid similarly damaging splits, contributing to the militancy of the 1950s and start of Delkora's left-wing insurgency.

First red scare

The first red scare began in the 1910s. Immediate causes included the growing militancy of the labour movement, internal tensions between radicals and reformists, and the start of the Ruvelkan Civil War. The 1916 republican uprising, which particularly affected Lebøvenland, fueled the climate of fear.

The Olav Brøndum cabinet, which owed its 1912 and 1916 election victories to the red scare, used the situation to weaken radical forces. It encouraged employers to carry out union-busting in workplaces under the guise of anti-communism, introduced criminal syndicalism laws, and encouraged blacklisting as a tactic. However, it stopped short of active crackdowns due to the difficulty of suppressing the 1916 uprising, which forced it to a moderate resolution.

The red scare had disastrous effects for the Delkoran left. National Labor's conservative wing triumphed over the leftist wing, many of which broke away to form the Communist Party of Delkora. The Gothendral Manifesto of 1915 demoralised party supporters, leading to a long period of National Labor being dominated by conservatives and corrupt party machines. The LO similarly fell under the control of the conservative guard, weakening the labour movement for a decade.

Second red scare

The second red scare began in the 1940s. In contrast to the international context of the first, domestic factors had greater weight, particularly the Blockade of Banderhus, Liberal Party split of 1940, and the spectacularly bitter rivalry between Sofia Westergaard and Veidnar Albendor. Much of the impetus for the red scare came from Albendor himself, who governed in an autocratic and vindictive manner, and sought to undo many of Westergaard's achievements.

Albendor seized on events like the Blockade of Banderhus, the 1942 Gothendral riot, and the 1946 Steel Strikes to spread fear of communist infiltration and paint his opponents as communists and radicals. He sought to lead a broader crackdown than Brøndum had three decades before, but initiatives like imposing a censorship code on Delkoran cinema, widespread blacklisting, and the Domestic Security Act repeatedly were struck down by the Federal Constitutional Court as unconstitutional.

The red scare, being so heavily identified with Albendor and his program of sweeping economic liberalisation and worsening inequality, backfired. Having experienced the disastrous effects of the previous red scare, the Delkoran left this time largely closed ranks in defiance. LO President Mireli Sørensen refused to purge communists, anarchists, and Labor Underground members from unions, instead welcoming them as allies against the government. National Labor underwent a radical reorganisation led by figures like Bjørn Olsen and Mette Elvensar, purging the conservative wing and returning the radical wing to power.

The second red scare coincided with the Liberation War, and thus marks a nadir in Gylias-Delkora relations. Both Albendor and his successor Hjalmar Madsen went to great lengths to blacklist and investigate Delkorans who joined the International Brigades or had traveled to the Free Territories, viewing them all as potential traitors.