Far-right Movements Research Articles

Democracy in Progress

Our contemporary world faces multifaceted crises spanning political, socio-cultural, and economic aspects, underlined by events like the COVID pandemic, climate emergencies and geopolitical conflicts. These challenges fuel scepticism towards democracy's efficacy in surmounting obstacles, evident in the rise of far-right movements globally. Amidst this situation, museums can serve as crucial spaces for fostering dialogue and understanding as they not only act as repositories of collective memory but also have the potential to become platforms for re-evaluation and innovation. Furthermore, they provide needed physical spaces in a digital age, which can offer opportunities for communal engagement and knowledge sharing. Futurium in Berlin and Theodor-Heuss-House in Stuttgart exemplify this by providing forums for discussing the principles of democracy and its future. Through interactive exhibits and public events, they facilitate informed discourse and societal reflection. By studying their approaches, we gather insights into fostering democratic engagement, highlighting the pivotal role of museums in nurturing informed citizenship, and shaping the trajectory of democratic societies. Keywords: discussing the future of democracy, Futurium, Theodor-Heuss- House.

Conspiracy theory, anti-globalism, and the Freedom Convoy: The Great Reset and conspiracist delegitimation

Abstract In this article, we analyse how anti-globalist conspiracy theories were mobilised online to delegitimise national authorities and policies designed to curb the Covid-19 pandemic in Canada. These conspiracy theories attacked the political authority underpinning public health measures and targeted purportedly ‘liberal’ policies and ‘globalist’ actors. Our case study examines the Freedom Convoy, a series of protests against Covid-19 vaccine mandates that began in Canada but inspired global demonstrations. The Freedom Convoy fostered and relied upon anti-globalist conspiracy theories, including the ‘Great Reset’ and ‘Great Replacement’, both of which posit a global conspiracy to erode national sovereignty and impose a ‘liberal’ international order. We investigate far-right social media commentary from 4chan’s Politically Incorrect imageboard /pol/, Infowars, and Rebel News, showing how conspiratorial claims were marshalled in alt-tech spaces. These narratives were used to delegitimise public health measures to combat Covid-19 and the Liberal Trudeau government by linking them to various ‘globalist’ forces. In exploring three mechanisms of delegitimation – externalisation, personification, and Othering – we argue that far-right movements like the Freedom Convoy, motivated by anti-globalist conspiracism, mobilise the international realm by leveraging the legitimacy gap of international organisations and agendas to undermine the political authority of actors at the national level.

Reshaping the European Union Landscape: The Rise of Far-Right Movements and Their Potential Impact on Middle East Policy

The rise of far-right parties within the European Union has raised significant concerns about potential shifts in EU foreign policy, particularly with regard to the Middle East. This development challenges the core values of the EU and has the potential to markedly reshape its diplomatic strategies, aid distribution, and regional engagement. This analysis examines key areas of Middle East policy likely to be influenced by the growing presence of far-right parties in EU institutions, including immigration and refugee policies, the EU's stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, relations with Iran, and involvement in peace processes in the region. Additionally, the study emphasizes potential shifts in power dynamics within EU decision-making bodies concerning Middle East policy, underscoring the urgency of the issue. The hypotheses suggest that the increased influence of far-right parties may result in more restrictive immigration policies, stronger pro-Israel positions, a more confrontational approach towards Iran, diminished EU involvement in Middle East peace initiatives, and a reduction in regional financial aid. The research also explores the likelihood of greater bilateral engagement between individual EU member states and Middle Eastern countries, which could weaken the EU's common foreign policy and lead to a more fragmented regional strategy. This study highlights the critical importance of understanding the complexities of this phenomenon, as the mainstreaming of far-right ideologies has profound implications for European politics and the EU’s role in the Middle East. Addressing these challenges is essential for safeguarding the EU’s foundational values and maintaining its ability to navigate intricate geopolitical landscapes.

Far-right leadership in comparison: shifts and continuities in German-speaking movements

ABSTRACT Leadership has long been acknowledged as a crucial feature of social movement activity. Theorisation has delved into the types of leadership and, more recently, the activities performed by leaders. However, comparative research on leadership and detection of any changes over time is scant. Our paper attends to these tasks by looking at the activities of two German-speaking far-right leaders. For many years, Christian Worch was one of the most active and influential neo-Nazi leaders in Germany, communicating much of his activity and strategy in the mid-2000s through a regular circular (Rundbriefe). Similarly, Martin Sellner, both as leader of the Identitarian movement and independent activist, today exercises an outsized role in the German-speaking far-right scene, including through his regular publications in the magazines Compact and Sezession. Our paper uses data of Worch’s and Sellner’s writings, scraped from webpages and gathered from archives, in a mixed-methods comparative design to identify the tasks performed by these leaders, and how frequently. Quantitative text analysis techniques guide the qualitative evaluation of leaders’ activities and reveal shifts – and continuities – in far-right movement leadership. The paper thereby contributes to scholarship on an important aspect of contemporary far-right movements as well as broader social movement literature on the topic of leadership.

EDUCAÇÃO PARA A EXTREMA DIREITA: UMA REVISÃO BILBIOGRÁFICA DO USO DE VIDEOGAMES COMO FERRAMENTA DE RADICALIZAÇÃO DA JUVENTUDE

Videogames are one of the most popular and relevant types of media today, driving a multi-million dollar global industry and instrumentalizing social, political and cultural issues. However, there is a constant and growing presence of hate speech and harassment in online gaming environments. This study aims to carry out a systematic literature review through an electronic search of articles in databases, using the recommendations of the PRISMA 2020 protocol, focusing on the interactions between far-right movements and the videogame culture and gamer communities, and the influences of this extremist discourse in these contexts. It was possible to observe recurring questions about the history of the video game industry, forms of recruitment and radicalization in gamer spaces, community involvement with far-right agents and ideologies, and practices of appropriation and use of characteristics specific to video games or its community in the propagation of extremist discourses.

Studying Fascism transculturally: Italian scholarship in the international arena

In 2005, Enzo Traverso argued that a very problematic trend was affecting German memory culture and scholarship about Nazism. Echoing an alarm raised earlier by Timothy Mason, the scholar contended that at least since the 1980s there had been a progressive ‘disparition de la notion de “fascism” du champ historiographique’ (disappearance of the concept of ‘fascism’ from historiography) (p.94). The phenomenon observed by Traverso has found concrete materialisation in the EU's politics of memory developed throughout the twenty-first century. As Filippo Focardi argues in his work Nel cantiere della memoria (2020), the EU memory discourse has been shaped around a totalitarian paradigm centred on the memorialisation of Nazi and Communist crimes, in which the notion of a general form of fascism finds little space, and Italian Fascism only exists as a marginal epiphenomenon. This situation has begun to change in recent years as the growing success of far-right movements across the globe has brought international attention to the concept of fascism. Many Italian scholars, who have never ceased to study fascism, are now directing their efforts towards the international arena to contribute to a discussion that seems to have acquired particular significance for the understanding of our time.

Orthodoxy and the COVID-19 Pandemic in Romania and Bulgaria: Political Turmoil, Informal Networks, and Religious Scepticism

Romania and Bulgaria stood out in the European Union as the countries with the lowest COVID vaccination rates. The article argues that Orthodox churches have played an influential role regarding the ways in which the population adhered (or failed to adhere) to national health measures. In Romania, the Church was divided between official and informal networks of social and political power which led to an increase in the far-right movement. In Bulgaria, the Church was closely associated with the government’s stance towards supporting health measures and, in the long term, political protests became associated with anti-vaccination program.

Pentecostal Culture and Imaginaries about Jews and Israel in Favelas: The Case of Complexo de Israel (Rio de Janeiro)

In this article, I aim to continue reflecting on the flourishing of Pentecostal culture in Brazil by exploring how this phenomenon directly influences the use of images and vocabulary associated with Judaism and the State of Israel. Without disregarding the rise of global right-wing and far-right movements and the particular valorisation their most emblematic actors show towards the State of Israel, garnering significant media attention, I seek to understand the reasons behind this appreciation that publicly emerged less than a decade ago. These reasons are linked to the growth of Pentecostalism in Latin America and Brazil, particularly from its outlying ghettos. Based on long-term fieldwork involving interviews and image documentation since the 1990s, I propose analytical keys that consider the conjunction of racial, religious, ontological/security issues and issues related to violent crime as situationally significant for the emergence of imaginaries about Israel and the Jews, and the rhetoric of loss in Brazilian ghettos, with special attention to the social dynamics in Rio de Janeiro.

The psychological is crucial: why Erich Fromm’s understanding of human needs contributes to defeating fascism

This article uses Erich Fromm’s list of five fundamental human needs discussed in The Sane Society (1955) to critically explore the role of psychological needs and desires in the concerning resurgence of fascist and far-right movements globally and especially in the United States. First, the article addresses the hesitancy expressed by some activists and theorists about engaging psychology in relation to fascism. I critique the view that such psychological inquiry undermines structural critique of society. I demonstrate that unproductive and harmful attempts to meet human needs outlined by Fromm are contributing to fascist resurgence and also to the rise of the ‘fascistic’ mass shooter, who must be understood as both influenced by structural/political dynamics and by the personal attempt to resolve the ‘existential’ problems of human life described by Fromm.

O herói improvável e o elixir das concórdias

The reproduction of pleasant myths, the fabrication of heroic predecessors for present political movements and the upkeep of useful lies for the defence of noble causes should not constitute the aim of legal historians. On the contrary, it is their scientific duty to point out the inappropriateness of such conducts and the lack of plausibility of narratives produced this way. Showing how the legal community of São Paulo has reconstructed its memory, the article offers a new interpretation about the path of Goffredo Telles Junior as a political militant and State theorist. Re-examining forgotten remains of such path and reinterpreting the already known sources, we aim at demonstrating that his adhesion to Integralismo, far from having been an insignificant and episodical juvenile whim, was a decisive moment which affected his ideological views along four decades. From the thirties to the hardest times of the Military Dictatorship, his texts abounded with typical elements of the far-right antidemocratic thought: the obsession with corporatism as a supposed antidote against class struggle, the repugnance for liberal democracy, the disdain for the opinions of the average citizen, the strong attachment to hierarchy and to the “Principle of Authority”, the rejection of individualism and the belief that small élites, superior to the “mass”, should show the Nation its way. Obvious as well in the first integralist party as in its postwar successor, Goffredo’s longstanding loyalty to that far-right movement tends to be disregarded by his admirers, thus wiping out decades of the jurist’s political activity.

Political Communication Research is Unprepared for the Far Right

ABSTRACT In this introductory piece to a special issue of the Forum, we explore the inadequacies of the field of political communication in addressing the rising threats posed by illiberalism and the far right. We argue that the discipline’s frameworks, developed within the context of Western liberal democracies, are ill-equipped to tackle the complexities and self-reflexive strategies of contemporary far-right movements and actor types. These formations exploit liberal norms and practices to ultimately undermine and dismantle democratic values. We call for more “democratic clarity,” urging political communication scholars to adopt a clear stance in defense of democratic principles and to develop more robust conceptual tools to accurately classify and understand far-right actors. We introduce the other discussion pieces featured in this special section and ultimately point to actionable items meant to move the field forward.

How liberalism accommodates far-right social movements: on “mainstreaming” and the need for critical theory in far-right studies

Abstract Scholarship on social movements, racism, and nationalism increasingly falls under the purview of “extremism studies” and its subfield “far-right studies.” Prominent extremism scholars have developed generalist theories purportedly explaining far-right politics and power dynamics (or “mainstreaming”) across liberal societies. They define “far-right” as “illiberal” politics promoting dehumanization, exclusion, and inequality. Their theory of mainstreaming suggests that “the” far-right is a coherent entity that “enters” mainstream institutions or discourse from the outside. For these scholars, strengthening liberal-civic principles prevents far-right political power (mainstreaming). I call these approaches “grand theory templates,” which I critique for simplistic interpretations of power and for overlooking critical theory scholarship showing how liberalism accommodates far-right politics. Using the Canadian nationalist movement as a case study, I show how liberal chauvinism can be crucial to empowering right-wing populist movements. My data include over 40 hours of participant-observation at 20 right-wing events and 35 interviews with 42 current leaders and members of on-the-ground nationalist groups. Right-wing nationalists foregrounded liberal-civic ideas, such as “security,” “rights,” “objectivity,” and “tolerance,” to advance anti-Muslim sentiment and populist conspiracism. My findings suggest that far-right movements can gain power by embracing liberalism’s ambiguity and contradictions. In other words, mastering liberal messaging can be essential to the growth of far-right movements, challenging any easy dismissal of these politics as “illiberal.” Altogether, “top–down” grand theory templates oversimplify political distinctions and power, compromising research design and analysis. I advocate for more granular and “bottom–up” inductive approaches that prioritize sociological traditions over theories recently popularized by extremism scholars.

Education and the far right: The case of Javier Milei's government in Argentina

The article presents a critical analysis of the educational strategies and proposals of Argentina's new far-right libertarian government, led by Javier Milei. It explores how far-right political forces, both in Argentina and globally, use education as a central tool for consolidating power, building consensus and diffusing ultra-conservative ideologies. Through a critical theory approach, the paper analyses Milei's radical educational reforms, their political, cultural and social implications. The global resurgence of far-right movements is contextualised as part of a multifaceted and transnational phenomenon, where educational policy becomes a battleground for ideological influence. This study contributes to understanding why far-right ideologies are gaining popularity, how they maintain their legitimacy and the crucial role education plays in constructing hegemony.

Online monitoring activism: civic surveillance practices as a reaction to the rise of the far-right in the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT The rise of far-right movements during the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a new form of individual digital activism: online monitoring activism (OMA). During the pandemic, online monitoring activists systematically collected, processed and published information from far-right Telegram channels and groups. Against the theoretical background of concepts like the monitory democracy and surveillance culture, we conducted eight semi-structured interviews with German online monitoring activists, investigating their motivations, roles, and the intricacies of their monitoring practices. Our findings reveal that online monitoring activists are driven by a sense of duty to counteract anti-democratic tendencies, which they perceive as inadequately addressed by institutional power. They gain localized and thematically specialized expertise that they share within loose networks of like-minded others. We highlight the activists’ liminal identity oscillating between virtuous citizenship and vigilantism, as well as the broader societal implications of their actions. On the one hand, they fulfill the role of active citizenship in monitory democracy; on the other, they also reinforce the transparency imperative and the wish for far-reaching security and control inherent to surveillance culture. The transparency potential afforded by their adversaries’ online connective action and mobilizing efforts legitimizes their surveillance and demands surveillance. Further normative work is needed to critically examine the extent and desirability of increased social control introduced to liberal democracy by online monitoring activism.

Cultural criminology, counter-extremism and the contemporary far right

This article draws together existing criminological work as well as developments from sociology, political science and media studies to argue that cultural criminology can offer a useful corrective to current ‘counter-extremist’ thinking about the contemporary far right. The first part of the article introduces the contemporary far right, describes how it differs from previous instances, and explains that this resurgent far-right movement has to date primarily been analysed through the lens of ‘counter-extremism’. The second part of the article problematises the concepts of ‘extremism’, ‘radicalisation’ and ‘terrorism’. The article argues that these concepts are ambiguous, imprecise and normative, and that they are freighted with ideological baggage and unsupported by empirical evidence. The third part of the article argues that cultural criminology can better inform our understanding of the contemporary far right owing to its focus on subculture and style, its attendance to networked digital media and its foregrounding of emotion and affect. The article concludes by outlining a tentative programme for cultural criminological research into the contemporary far right.

Return of history or ex-novo politics? A computational institutionalist perspective on the surge of Vox in Spain and Chega in Portugal

Far-right movements are gaining political prominence across Europe. Do they represent a resurgence of early twentieth-century autocratic regimes, or are they a new phenomenon? The Iberian Peninsula offers a unique opportunity for analysis, with Spain and Portugal transitioning from dictatorships in the 1930s to democracies in the 1970s, and illiberal movements re-entering political institutions in the 2010s. To explore this evolution, this article employs an interdisciplinary approach, combining the analytical strength of history with the practical advantages of computational methods. The analysis reveals that Vox emerged as a reaction to a perceived breakdown of the transition agreements and is driven by a commitment to an exclusionary nationalism resembling that of the Francoist regime. This contrasts sharply with Chega’s lack of connection to Salazarism and its focus on contemporary politics. However, both parties share a common agenda with the global far-right movement on secular issues, particularly in restricting political rights for women and LGBTQI+ identities. The article highlights the importance of considering the historical development of the political system when examining emerging phenomena. It also uses a computational institutionalist approach that could assist other scholars in assessing current political trends.

The Ambivalence of Far-Right Women: Hate, Trauma, Gender, and Neoliberalism in Contemporary Japan.

While far-right movements are commonly associated with masculinity and women are in the minority, it is notable that they often play significant roles within these movements. To deepen our understanding of the motivations behind women's participation, this study challenges Blee's argument that women's motivations for participating are shaped by their interactions with other members. By using the psychosocial method devised by Hollway and Jefferson and developed by Gadd, the present study argues that women's pre-participation experiences can play a vital part in drawing them to the movements. Through analyzing the life stories of six far-right women in Japan and conducting an in-depth case study of three of them, the study aims to uncover a wide range of experiences that may initially appear unrelated to far-right ideology but ultimately led these subjects to become involved in far-right movements. It highlights the importance of paying attention to their complex subjectivities, which are formed by the interplay between their unique trajectories and societal transitions concerning gender norms, particularly within the era of neoliberal "emancipation." The study finds that the duality of far-right movements, which combine conservatism with deviance, enables some women to express paradoxical desires that they experience in response to living through a transitional era.

The Origins of White Power Music: The Co-Opting of Punk and Oi! By a Parasitical Social Movement

ABSTRACT This paper challenges the common portrayal of White Power music as evolving from, or being an element of, Oi! punk. The paper traces the histories of White Power music and Oi!, and analyses a sample of 268 Oi! songs for racist or fascist lyrics. It shows that, while some Oi! artists and audience members were involved in far-right activism, the subculture was not itself fascist or overtly racist. Many of those involved in Oi! took action against racism and far-right movements, and almost no songs included racist lyrics. The paper proposes two arguments. First, drawing from Worley, media and scholarly portrayals of Oi! as racist or fascist may represent the demonization of the working-class. Second, that White Power co-opted elements of Oi! does not mean that White Power music emerged from Oi!. Rather it likely emerged from first-wave punk at roughly the same time as Oi!. The central argument being that the White Power music scene, and the far-right more generally, is parasitical. It feeds upon the resources of larger scenes and subcultures, often harming them in the process.

Compliance and the Second Sex

As women’s participation becomes increasingly visible within far-right movements, the question of agency is often brought up; are women in the far-right agents? Although this question has been explored before, only a limited sect of this literature has analyzed this phenomenon through a feminist theoretical lens. This is notable considering much of women’s participation stems from an initial rejection of feminist values, often citing feminism as being the root cause of their lack of quality of life. Throughout this paper, I will argue that women’s agency in far-right movements can be better explained through the application of Simone de Beauvoir’s theoretical framework. I will situate this argument within a literature review that analyzes the previous understandings of women’s agency within the far-right. Following this, I will additionally present literature on hegemonic masculinity and its relationship to far-right women’s complicity. Furthermore, the strength of using de Beauvoir’s theoretical framework to analyze women of the far right will be asserted through an analysis of the case study of Ayla Stewart, an infamous far-right online influence. This paper ultimately aims to answer the following: How can de Beauvoir’s theoretical framework help better understand the agency of women within far-right political and social movements?

The European far right and human rights language

ABSTRACT In recent years, the European far-right movements have increasingly employed the language and terminology of human rights, even though resistance towards international influences continues to be one of their most consistent traits. The purpose of this article is to analyse how authors in the European far right use human rights language and concepts and what it reveals of their views on human rights. In this analysis, based on publications by major European parties, organisations, and activists in the far-right movement mainly in France, Germany and Finland, we argue that while the use of human rights language is primarily instrumental, it also utilises surprising remnants from the history of human rights thought, such as the relative natural law theory. In many cases, the observed uses are thinly veiled attempts to pass racism as legitimate rights claims, but others are more creative, for example when the criticism of Western bias in human rights is turned into an argument for white supremacy, repurposing the language of minority protections.