To the right and left
Before getting to what right-wing extremism is all about, it is imperative to know how the terms 'left' and 'right' emerged to denote political divisions. According to Evan Andrews of History.com, "…they were originally coined in reference to the physical seating arrangements of politicians during the French Revolution. The split dates to the summer of 1789, when members of the French National Assembly met to begin drafting a constitution. The delegates were deeply divided over the issue of how much authority King Louis XVI should have. The anti-royalist revolutionaries seated themselves to the presiding officer's left, while the more conservative supporters of the monarchy gathered to the right." Andrews adds, "By the mid-19th century, "left" and "right" had entered the French vernacular as shorthand for opposing political ideologies.

Defining the extreme
Let's break down the term itself: 'Right wing' is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as, 'The conservative or reactionary section of a political party or system,' where as 'extremism' is defined as, 'The holding of extreme political or religious views; fanaticism'. Marry the two meanings and the concept takes shape: it is a belief system of those who identify as conservatives that results in fanaticism.