Cultural Genocide, Mass Immigration, and the Kalergi Plan: Conceptualizations of Race in White Identity Politics Online

Abstract

This study aims to clarify ambiguities surrounding the understanding of race in white identity politics and how these ambiguities are reflected in online discourse. Grounded in the framework of critical race studies, we constructed a comprehensive race typology that we used to unpack the multifaceted conceptions of race in digital discourse on Twitter. Using a combination of Tableau, NVivo, and manual coding, we examined the prevalence of four conceptualizations of race (Biological, Cultural, Nationalist, and Pan-Nationalist) in data collected from three Twitter hashtags (#whitegenocide, #kalergiplan, and #antiwhite). We conclude that race does not stand out as one coherent system in the analyzed data but as an amalgam of divergent racial interpretations. Notably, the Cultural conceptualization of race is the most predominant, followed closely by the Pan-Nationalist perspective of white identity. Our investigation also explores the palpable anxiety surrounding the perceived erosion of the white race within white identity politics. This apprehension is prominently articulated as "white grievances" and through a gendered understanding wherein white women assume a pivotal role in both propagating the white race and in acting as a vulnerable "access point" within the white racial framework.