The so-called 'third wave' of right-wing extremism has taken both society and social science by storm. In contrast to the many studies that look for possible explanations for the success of this 'wave', this article focuses on right-wing extremism itself. In the first part, the concept is defined on the basis of the existing literature, as a political ideology that consists of a combination of several features. In the second part, these features are first conceptualized and second used in a comparative analysis of the ideologies of three alleged right-wing extremist parties (the Dutch CP'86, the German NPD and the Austrian NDP). This analysis shows a more differentiated picture of the ideology of this 'party family', and is a warning against too careless generalisations.