Fragments of an anti‐fascist geography: Interrogating racism, nationalism, and state power

Abstract

Extensive research exists in geography concerning racism and nationalism, yet there has been surprisingly little written on the far right, and even less on their anti‐fascist opponents. In the context of a resurgent far right, this paper draws together disparate work on this topic within geography to investigate the possibilities for the development of anti‐fascist geographies. While fascism and anti‐fascism have been chronically under‐researched in geography, I argue that there remains an insightful body of research in existence and that geographers are well positioned to undertake substantial work on the subject. Three connecting dimensions of an anti‐fascist geography are identified, namely, investigating not only racism but also the more‐than‐racist dimensions of the far right; their intersections with one another; and the development of anti‐fascist rationalities in geographical scholarship. Through this discussion, I suggest that the field of anarchist geographies offers a useful framework for these tasks, not only for empirical study but also for developing agendas to embed anti‐fascist principles into academic practices. By focusing in on the spatialities of far right and anti‐fascist politics, political geographers can position themselves at the forefront of this important area of work.

The Spatial Politics of Far-right Populism: VOX, Anti-fascism and Neighbourhood Solidarity in Madrid City

“…Hortaleza exemplifies the relevance of the construction of anti-fascism in the neighbourhood. The mechanisms of 'differential racialisation' mentioned in the previous section evidence the 'processual, often contradictory, constitution' of neighbourhood communities (Arampatzi, 2017) and the importance of recognising grassroots activity as central to anti-fascism and as an alternative to state power (Ince, 2019). This means that the potential of the barrio for the construction of alternative and progressive political identities and projects of belongings cannot be taken for granted.…”

Historical geography I: Doom, danger, disregard – Towards political historical geographies

“…First, towards spectres and precursors of fascist and anti-fascist geographies: interest, not least, in Hitler’s Geographies (Giaccaria and Minca, 2016), which were based on twin spatial practices of lebensraum (the expansion in national/racial ‘living space’) and entfernung (the expulsion and elimination of ‘undesirables’), and how they are being reworked in contemporary far-right conceptions of homeland and exile and haunt settler colonial logics of elimination (e.g. Ince, 2019; Merrill and Pries, 2019). Rachel Busbridge (2020), for example, tracks ideas of ‘territorial exclusivity’ to Israeli incursions in and around historic sites with dual Israeli and Palestinian heritage and with the Israeli authorities using these sites to mobilise ‘mythical pasts and redemptive futures’.…”

The mainstreaming of “vulgar territory” and popular visions of hyper‐bordered and feminized territory

“…In this way, they represent a desire for community, through authoritarian means if necessary, as much as they do fear of the other (cf. Ince, 2019).…”