Young People and the Far Right

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xix

   PDF

2. Youth and the Far Right

   • Pam Nilan

   Pages 1-27

3. Online Discourse and Social Media

   • Pam Nilan

   Pages 29-56

4. The Warrior Myth and Other Fantasies

   • Pam Nilan

   Pages 57-84

5. Ultra-Nationalism: Imagining the Future

   • Pam Nilan

   Pages 85-112

6. Entrances and Exits

   • Pam Nilan

   Pages 113-139

7. Back Matter

   Pages 141-145

   PDF

This book looks at how young people get attracted to the Far Right, especially young white men. We may never know why a young individual ends up there, yet two things are obvious. First, Far Right propaganda appeals to the fantasy imagination and to the emotions. Second, supporting the Far Right is a decision often made by digitally-networked 15-25 year olds looking for answers and wanting to express their anger. However, many later become aware of a yawning gulf between the ideal future they envisioned, and what happens in the here and now. Accounts of the Far Right often focus on terrorist events, plots or extreme acts of violence. However, the emphasis here is on rather ordinary young people and how they get involved in a social movement that promises adventure and belonging. The aim is to better understand how their hate practices are framed and channeled by the persuasive discourse of the Far Right.

• Far Right
• politics and media
• sociology of youth
• Alt-Right
• ethnography
• class
• gender
• popular culture

“Understanding how far-right movements are managing to promulgate this exclusivist version of utopia is the central theme of this timely and accessible book. Nilan encourages the reader to move beyond individualist explanations of far-right youth radicalisation. … She reminds us that there is a rich and enduring body of sociological work that can be bought to the topic of youth radicalisation to extremism. … Nilan … brings a much needed sociological perspective to youth studies of extreme political movements.” (Debra Smith, Journal of Applied Youth Studies, Vol. 5 (3), 2022) “In this brilliant book, Pam Nilan provides offers a transversal overview of key dimensions to understand Far Right appeal among young white men in the 21st century, from the gamification of hate to social media, from conspiracy theories and fantasy stories that re-enchant their world to the quest of belonging and agency.” (Geoffrey Pleyers, F.R.S.–FNRS Professor of Sociology, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium)

“‘Let’s face it, mate, if we don’t do something about it right now, in 20 years we’re going to be forced to speak Arabic and under Sharia law’. The words of the homeless, white young man aged 21, who had never had a job, took me by surprise in 2017. They would not surprise me now. Nilan’s scholarly and engaging text has appraised me of the sense of ‘aggrieved entitlement’ held by the ‘lost’ white working class, youth in particular, who can become recast as the heroic defenders of a lost white utopia. Not all become active or violent participants in Far-Right movements. That is an individual choice. Nor is the internet to blame. But young people are avid users of social media, the trojan horse for promoting affiliation to right-wing extremism. Nilan shows how this is taking place in different parts of the world, how young people join and the challenges of leaving. It is an illuminating account, providing clarification and concern in equal measure.” (Prof Howard Williamson, CVO CBE FRSA FHEA, Professor of European Youth Policy, University of South Wales)



“Prof Pam Nilan has produced a beautifully crafted account of a very complex and increasingly pertinent challenge: youth and the Far-Right in the West. This is a passionate book. Guided by Nilan’s concern for youth welfare, it takes the reader on a journey of discovery and understanding. By examining the emotional appeal of Far-Right utopia, Nilan has helped explain its attraction and its limitations as some youth grow in and out of the Far-Right.” (Prof Shahram Akbarzadeh, Deakin University, Australia)



“Sketches the push and pull factors that may lead to radicalization. Importantly, Nilan distinguishes between casual ‘floaters’, who may participate in online hate and harassment, and more hard core ‘members’ who sign up for specific groups and IRL/AFK activities. This is an evocative book for understanding the relations between masculinity, class, race and youth in a global politics that continues its four-decade shift to the right, flagrantly producing evermore stark inequalities, political violence and affective precarity.” (Steven Threadgold, University of Newcastle, Australia)



“Pam Nilan’s must-read new book is an engaging account of the ‘youthfulness’ in the contemporary Far Right. The book is explicit in why it’s important to better understand the discourses that lead to hateful and violent speech and actions. She especially shows how the Far Right uses online gaming and social media to address and draw in young people, many are ‘floaters’: engaging in hate speech and trolling, but remain anonymous and online, less organised as identifiable members.” (Professor Ariadne Vromen FASSA, Sir John Bunting Chair of Public Administration, the Australian National University)



“In the post-Trump era, when denialism in the face of the pandemic fuels ultra-nationalism in Europe and beyond, it is urgent and necessary to understand the attraction of some young people to the (new) extreme right. Pam Nilan’s book provides virtual ethnography data and a framework for cross-national analysis.” (Carles Feixa, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain)

• Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University, Burwood, Australia

  Pam Nilan

Pam Nilan is Honorary Professor in the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation at Deakin University, and Conjoint Professor (Sociology) at the University of Newcastle. A youth sociologist, she has published on youth topics in Australia, Indonesia and Fiji. A recent broad-appeal book is Muslim Youth in the Diaspora (2019).

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