The American radical right has almost always been fractured, riven by red-hot splits over ideology, raw power, and an unrelieved series of petty fights revolving around sex, drugs, money, and over-inflated egos. A neo-Nazi leader sneers at the “freaks and weaklings” who inhabit other hate groups. One Klansman shoots another over the theft of a… Continue reading “Recent Splits & Spills in the American Radical Right”
After 1975, the remnants of Franco’s Falange Española de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista were scattered across Spain, and found minimal support – despite attempts to consolidate power during the early years of the democracy. Numerous political parties aspired to claim the Falange as their own over the next forty years—most simply disappearing. In… Continue reading “Spain First: The Return of the Falange”
In the world of political extremism, we often make assumptions about the relationship between extreme ideology and political violence. We assume that extremist views lead to violence, and that those who commit political violence are on the farthest ends of the political spectrum. However, there is strikingly little research that empirically supports this relationship. Of… Continue reading “The Role of Ideology in Radical Right Violence: Lessons from America”
The false anxiety that whiteness is under siege fueled the rise of Trump, but it isn’t new. You can trace white supremacist culture throughout American history. In the context of contemporary politics in America and the rise of the radical right, whiteness feels like it is having its moment in the sun. The election of… Continue reading “From The Plantation To The Caravan: America’s History Of White Nationalism”
Roger Griffin, Fascism: An Introduction to Comparative Fascist Studies (Cambridge: Polity, 2018) £14.99 paperback and ebook, £45.00 hardback What is ‘fascism’? This question has driven the work of Professor Roger Griffin throughout his influential academic career. In books, journal article and at conferences, Griffin has spent a lifetime discussing and debating how fascism should be… Continue reading “Book Review: Roger Griffin (2018) Fascism – An Introduction to Comparative Fascist Studies”
During the strife-ridden decade of the 1960s, the call for ‘law and order’ became a major demand of conservative journalists and politicians. In part, they were reacting to the surge in mass student-led protests against American participation in the Vietnam war. This new movement led to peace marches, anti-war rallies held throughout the country,… Continue reading “Topsy-Turvy: The other side of 1968 activism, 50 years on”
So Two cheers for Democracy: one because it admits variety and two because it permits criticism. – E. M. Forster Importance! What is it, sir after all? The respect of fools, the wonder of children, the envy of the rich, the contempt of the wise man. – Stendhal In a recent series of tweets and… Continue reading “Two Cheers for Democracy”
In the past, emotions in politics were too often negatively defined, dismissed as symptoms of immaturity and irrationality. “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!” shouts news anchor Howard Beale in the 1975 movie Network. Thousands of ordinary people follow his lead, raising their voice from open windows and down… Continue reading “What Drives the Politics of Rage?”