The alt-right: From libertarianism to paleolibertarianism and beyond

Abstract

Today, an international new right has coalesced politically and at the level of culture. Variously described as nativism, right-populism, the alt-right, neotribalism, neoreactionary politics, and neofascism, far-right movements have achieved electoral victories that not long ago seemed highly improbable. A key factor behind this momentum is a new cultural politics, which is the subject of this volume. Consciously adapting tactics from the left, the new right has pivoted from decorum to shock and transgression; from conservative propriety to the frank sexualization of political figures and positions; from appealing to the conscious normalcy of the "silent majority" to recasting itself as a protest movement of and for the aggrieved. These movements share a mandate for a robust nationalism, yet they also cultivate a striking international solidarity with one another. Who is the subject of this new nationalism? Where did it come from, intellectually and socio-historically? What critical and cultural resources can help us to counter it? Each of the chapters gives a critical account of an aspect of ethnonationalist cultural politics today, drawing out implications for counter-strategies, resistance, and anti-fascist alternatives. The collection addresses a range of national contexts: Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, India, Israel-Palestine, and the United Kingdom. Contributors pay particular attention to the ongoing relevance of theories of subjectivity, including psychoanalysis, to our understanding of current political predicaments, and they are especially attuned to the centrality of issues of gender and sexuality (including transphobia and virulent opposition to "gender ideology") in contemporary far-right movements.