Orientalist-settler colonialism: foundations and practices of post-911 white nationalism in the United States

Abstract

As white nationalism grows in the United States, focused examinations of its discourses and practices is crucial to understanding geographies of the state and nation. While academics have provided important critiques of how white nationalist ideologies are deeply connected to its settler colonial history, this chapter adds new insights about how white nationalism is also intertwined with postcolonial critiques. The result of this convergence is a targeting of people who were not directly affected by early American settler colonial practices like genocide or slavery, but who are nevertheless subjected to the similar white nationalist foundational discourses and practices. Postcolonial and Orientalist critiques shed light on the varied migrant, diasporic and transnational communities in the United States, which are often missing from settler colonial critiques. This chapter builds on and connects these two critiques to explore contemporary iterations, expressions and effects of white nationalism.