Pessimism and the Alt-Right: Knowledge, Power, Race and Time

Michelsen, Nicholas; Orellana, Pablo de

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-21780-8_8

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…But as a truly transnational undertaking, it did not only focus on the Germanic tradition but also partly appropriated the Romance lineage of traditionalism and opposition to modernity of Julius Evola, including its mysticism (Sheehan, 1981). This revolutionary conservative lineage finds its reflection in intellectual currents supporting Le Pen, Salvini, parts of Germany’s AfD (its Flügel -faction around Björn Höcke) or the US-American Alt-Right of Steve Bannon (Abrahamsen et al, 2020; Green, 2017; Michelsen and de Orellana, 2020; Teitelbaum, 2020). Although most of these political forces also incorporate numerous other influences, the New Right is the single most influential intellectual lineage that cuts across them.…”

Section: Revolutionary Conservatism: From ‘Economism’ To ‘Solidarism’mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Two Faces of the ‘Global Right’: Revolutionary Conservatives and National-Conservatives

Varga

Buzogány

2021

Critical Sociology

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Studies of the Global Right usually trace its intellectual underpinnings to the revolutionary conservative New Right and its ideas claiming to defend an ‘ethno-pluralist’ European identity from the multiculturalist threat of a ‘Great Replacement’ through immigration. A second lineage, which we refer to as ‘national-conservative’, is less explored and is more concerned with threats to moral order and the loss of moral bearing due to liberalism’s relativism. These two intellectual lineages, and corresponding political alignments, engender different political projects of the Global Right, which is not that coherent as it seems. Taking a long-term historical-ideational perspective that underlines the power of ideologies as templates, we argue that a closer look at the different intellectual traditions of the Global Right can help explain the contrasting political preferences for socio-economic action, institution-building and transnational cooperation.

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Section: Revolutionary Conservatism: From ‘Economism’ To ‘Solidarism’mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Two Faces of the ‘Global Right’: Revolutionary Conservatives and National-Conservatives

Varga

Buzogány

2021

Critical Sociology

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“…To critique effectively we must recognise that these marginal thinkers are critical about things too. The distinction first proposed in the 1980s between a sovereign modernity playing out as IR and virtuous marginalised critics who seek an exit from the power relations of the discipline, is a rhetorical trope that might appear to have passed its sell-by-date in an era defined by reactionary critiques of modernism in IR (de Benoist and Champetier, 2012; Evola, 2018; Mackay and LaRoche, 2018; Michelsen and De Orellana, 2020).…”

Section: On Lay and Academic Critique In Irmentioning

confidence: 99%

What is a minor international theory? On the limits of ‘Critical International Relations’

Michelsen

2020

Journal of International Political Theory

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This article argues that ‘Critical International Relations’, often counterpoised to ‘mainstream IR’, has come to function as a major theoretical category in its own right. It argues that critique involves ‘minor theorising’, defined as the practice of disturbing settled theoretical assumptions in the discipline. The article examines the role and significance of ‘minor theories’ in the context of ongoing debates about Critical IR. It argues that critique is defined by context, and is politically and ethically ambiguous. The article concludes that the scope for critique could be advanced if the terms ‘Critical IR’ and ‘Critical IR Scholar’ are dropped from scholarly parlance.

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“…When considering other major health issues in 2020 (eg, COVID-19, Black Lives Matter, climate change), flawed political decisions suggest that some leaders have "a pessimistic vision of humanity itself, which is reduced to a racial and economic expression of biological survival". 5 Therefore, similar to the campaigning eye surgeon Fred Hollows, we need to counter such thinking as "optimist[s], always, that the world can be a better place". 6 Optimism and equity will succeed in the right circumstances.…”

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confidence: 99%