Australian right wing extremist ideology: exploring narratives of nostalgia and nemesis

Abstract

ABSTRACTAustralian Right Wing Extremism (RWE) ideology can be identified by ethnocentric and structural discourses, with prominent narratives of racial identification and threat articulation. This study has examined nine RWE manifestos and collated statements of Australian authorship, both historical and contemporary, to gain a qualitative understanding of discourses, narratives and axiomatic beliefs within the heterogeneous movement, in order to identify the ideological contour of Australia’s extreme right. It found that ethnocentric discourses assigned positive value to identity narratives regarding white identity and heritage and seek to proscribe the ideal society based on nostalgic and imagined identity constructs. Societal narratives situate gender roles within the ambit of a failing and degenerate society. Threat narratives assigned negative values to designated out-groups, while concurrently arguing white victimhood. Structural discourses manifested to a lesser extent, demonstrating opposition to political concepts like democracy and equality, and capitalist economic systems. Ethnocentric and structural discourses combine to elevate white identity, enforce notions of threat, and romanticise a nostalgic and imagined existence to which extremists seek a return.