The radical populist right’s appeal to emotions has been one of the main reasons for its staying power over the span of more than four decades. The triumph of Nazism in the years following the election of 1933 that brought Adolf Hitler to power represents arguably the greatest human catastrophe of the 20th century —… Continue reading “When Emotion Trumps Dispassionate Politics”
The radical right has become increasingly skillful at using dishonest memes to radicalize a wider audience into a state of extremism. Far-right populist nationalism seems contagious. It’s the new normal and one can only wonder how it all started, as the rise of far-right populism appears to come out of nowhere. An average reader of the mainstream… Continue reading “How The Radical Right Weaponizes Memes”
Books and literature have become important elements of a thriving radical-right that not only sustains political and economic ideas, but also forms a cultural space held together by shared “cultural imaginaries”. This blog entry is part two of a mini-series that looks at how novels and other pieces of fiction help to envision ideal… Continue reading “Images of a ‘Better’ World? Fictional Storytelling in the Radical Right (Part II)”
Analysing the radical-right – whether parties, social movements or paramilitary organisations – usually looks at programmatic and doctrinaire material, such as party manifestos or pamphlets. Scrutinising these reveals many facets of their politics, e.g. stances towards migration and taxation. However, the radical-right is not only a space of strictly political and economic ideas, but also… Continue reading “Images of a ‘better’ world? Fictional storytelling in the radical-right (Part I)”
Music has long been a key factor in spreading neo-Nazi ideology, serving both as a tool to attract (young) people and to reproduce identities of those already part of the scene/movement. Indeed, it is through music that the extreme right has voiced its ideas, including racism and xenophobia, othering of ‘internal enemies’, antisemitism as well… Continue reading “Fancy a show? Neo-Nazi concerts in Germany”
This interview by SSRCorg with Cynthia Miller-Idris is on her latest book, The Extreme Gone Mainstream: Commercialization and Far Right Youth Culture in Germany (2018). Professor Cynthia Miller-Idriss is Head of Outreach at CARR, and Professor of Education and Sociology at American University.
©Getty Images In the months since white supremacist blogger Andrew Anglin urged his followers to dress in “hip” and “cool” ways at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., far-right fashion has rapidly evolved. The clean-cut aesthetic of the white polo shirts and khakis that drew national attention last August has been supplanted by new brands marketing to and for… Continue reading “The Rise of Fascist Fashion: Clothing helps the Far Right sell their violent message”