A Philosophical and Historical Analysis of “Generation Identity”: Fascism, Online Media, and the European New Right

ABSTRACT

This article analyzes ideological and organizational characteristics of the pan-European youth movement, “Generation Identity” (GI), through a philosophical and historical lens. With a synoptic perspective on existing and original research, it outlines an analysis of key GI literature as well as its ideological influences, activist behavior, and media strategies. This research reveals that, like other twentieth and twenty-first century examples of neo-fascism, the movement is syncretic and attempts to legitimize its political aims through reference to historical quasi- and proto-fascist cases, in combination with popular left and right-wing political ideals. A reflection on GI’s activist behavior, on the other hand, demonstrates that the movement is relatively unique in the field of current far-right politics; particularly in the extent to which it draws practical inspiration from the tactics and propagandizing strategies of contemporary left-wing movements. GI’s online presence, including its leaders’ promotion of gamification, also illustrates its distinctive appeal to young, relatively affluent, countercultural and digitally literate populations. Finally, while in many respects GI is characteristic of the “European New Right” (ENR), the analysis finds that its spokespersons’ various promotion of capitalism and commodification, including through their advocacy of international trade and sale of merchandise, diverges from the anti-capitalist philosophizing of contemporary ENR thinkers.

KEYWORDS:

• Generation identity
• fascism
• European new right
• activism
• social media

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

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6. Angela Nagle, Kill All Normies: Online Culture Wars from 4chan and Tumblr to Trump and the Alt-right (London: John Hunt Publishing, 2017).

7. Mark Bassin, “Lev Gumilev and the European New Right,” Nationalities Papers 43, no. 6 (2015): 840–65.

8. Tomislav Sunic and Alain de Benoist, Against Democracy and Equality: The European New Right (Budapest: Arktos, 2011).

9. Al Jazeera News: France, “What is Generation Identity?” https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/12/generation-identity-181210092457788.html (accessed January 1, 2019).

10. Al Jazeera English, “Al Jazeera Investigations – Generation Hate Part 1,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il2GbD4mrrk (accessed January 1, 2019).

11. Weiyi Cai and Simone Landon, “Attacks by White Extremists Are Growing. So Are There Connections,” The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/04/03/world/white-extremist-terrorism-christchurch.html?fbclid=IwAR1tDZdL4FeO1gqonH1njT7HKlMiIRDDrrdgFtcsIUhPbhGxnTAQMlIoI4E (accessed April 3, 2019)

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14. Jason Wilson, “Austrian far-right leader searched on suspicion of forming terrorist group with Christchurch shooter”, The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/26/austrian-far-right-leader-searched-on-suspicion-of-forming-terrorist-group-with-christchurch-shooter (accessed June 26, 2019).

15. Ibid.

16. Tamir Bar-On, “Intellectual Right-Wing Extremism – Alain de Benoist’s Mazeway Resynthesis since 2000”, in The Extreme Right in Europe: Current Trends and Perspectives, eds. Uwe Backes and Patrick Moreau (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2012), 333–358.

17. Alain de Benoist and Charles Champetier, Manifesto for a European Renaissance, (Budapest: Arktos, 2012).

18. Alain de Benoist, “Alain de Benoist Answers Tamir Bar-On,” Journal for the Study of Radicalism 8, no. 1 (2014): 160.

19. Roger Eatwell, Fascism: A History, (New York: Random House, 2011), 269.

20. Roger Eatwell, “Explaining Fascism and Ethnic Cleansing: The Three Dimensions of Charisma and the Four Dark Sides of Nationalism,” Political Studies Review 4, no. 3 (2006): 266.

21. GI: UK and Ireland, “Generation Identity: United Kingdom and Ireland,” https://www.generation-identity.org.uk (accessed July 1, 2018).

22. Bent Flyvbjerg, “Five Misunderstandings about Case-study Research,” Qualitative Inquiry 12, no. 2 (2006): 219–45.

23. Ibid.

24. Ibid.

25. See Sellner’s statements in RT Producers, “Mo Ansar and Martin Sellner Debates on RT International,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nG5WEE7m4s (accessed July 1, 2018).

26. SBS Dateline, “Dateline Europe Special: Young, Hip and Far Right,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5eq-4xEAKk (accessed July 1, 2018).

27. Ibid.

28. Paul Hainsworth, The Politics of the Extreme Right: From the Margins to the Mainstream (London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016).

29. Amorpha Media, “Generation Identity Martin Sellner in London,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNbkHLEZuZY (accessed July 1, 2018).

30. Lizzie Dearden, “Generation Identity: Far-right Group Sending UK Recruits to Military-style Training Camps in Europe”, Independent, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/generation-identity-far-right-group-training-camps-europe-uk-recruits-military-white-nationalist-a8046641.html (accessed November 9, 2019).

31. SBS Dateline, “Dateline Europe Special.”

32. Vox-Pol and ITV, “Undercover: Inside Britain’s New Far Right,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IM4wtEr4No (accessed July 1, 2018).

33. SBS Dateline, “Dateline Europe Special.”

34. Dearden, “Generation Identity.”

35. Haydn Rippon, “Occupy le mosque: France’s new radical nativism,” The Conversation, https://theconversation.com/occupy-le-mosque-frances-new-radical-nativism-10368 (accessed November 6, 2012).

36. Ibid.

37. Louie Dean Valencia-Garcia, “Generation Identity: A millennial fascism for the future?” EuropeNow, https://www.europenowjournal.org/2018/02/22/generation-identity-a-millennial-fascism-for-the-future/ (accessed February 22, 2018).

38. Valencia-Garcia, “Generation Identity.”

39. Ibid.

40. Alice Blum, “Men in the Battle for the Brains: Constructions of Masculinity Within the ‘Identitary Generation’,” in Gender and Far Right Politics in Europe, edited by Michaela Kottig, Renate Bitzan and Andrea Peto (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017): 321–34.

41. Julian Bruns, Kathrin Glösel, and Natascha Strobl, More than just an online phenomenon: roots, characteristics and strategies of the ‘Identitarian movement’, https://biwaz.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/paper_gloesel_identitarian-movement.pdf

42. Jose Pedro Zuquete, The Identitarians: The Movement against Globalism and Islam in Europe, (Indiana: University of Notre Dame Pess, 2018).

43. Petra Vejvodova, “The Identitarian Movement – Renewed Idea of Alternative Europe,” ECPR General Conference, Glasgow, UK 3–6 September, Draft, https://ecpr.eu/Filestore/PaperProposal/ff2ea4db-2b74-4479-8175-7e7e468608ba.pdf (accessed June 1, 2018); Alain De Benoist and Chalres Champetier, “The French New Right in Year 2000,” Telos, no. 115 (1999): 117–44.

44. Roger Woods, The Conservative Revolution in the Weimar Republic (New York: Springer, 1999).

45. Emel Akcali, Jean-Yves Camus, Vugar Imanbeyli, Umut Korkut, Vadim Rossman, Giovanni Savino, Anton Shekhovtsov, David C. Speedie and Sofia Tipaldou, Eurasianism and the European far right: Reshaping the Europe–Russia Relationship (Lanham: Lexington Books, 2015).

46. Valencia-Garcia, “Generation Identity.”

47. Anonymous, We are Generation Identity (Budapest: Arktos Media, 2013).

48. Markus Willinger, Generation Identity: A Declaration of War Against the ‘68ers, trans. David Schreiber, edited by John Morgan and Phillipe Vardon, (Budapest: Arktos Media, 2013).

49. Markus Willinger, A Europe of Nations, trans. David Schreiber, edited by John Morgan, (Budapest: Arktos Media, 2014).

50. Alexandr Dugin, Eurasian Mission: An Introduction to Neo-Eurasianism, (Budapest: Arktos Media, 2014).

51. Joakim Andersen, Rising from the Ruins: The Right of the 21^st Century, edited by Daniel Friberg, (Budapest: Arktos Media, 2018).

52. Guillaume Faye, Why We Fight: Manifesto of the European Resistance, trans. Michael O’Meara, edited by Pierre Krebs, (Budapest: Arktos Media, 2001).

53. Guillaume Faye, Understanding Islam, (Budapest: Arktos Media, 2016).

54. Willinger, Generation Identity.

55. Faye, Understanding Islam, 171 in Markus Willinger, Generation Identity: A Declaration of War Against the ‘68ers, 16.

56. Willinger, Generation Identity.

57. Sunic, Against Democracy and Equality.

58. Alain De Benoist, View From the Right, Volume I: Heritage and Foundations (Budapest: Arktos Media, 2017).

59. Alain De Benoist, View From the Right, Volume II: Systems and Debates (Budapest: Arktos Media, 2018).

60. De Benoist and Champetier, Manifesto for a European renaissance.

61. Willinger, Generation Identity.

62. Ibid., 16.

63. Ibid., 19.

64. Ibid., 37.

65. Ibid., 24.

66. Willinger, A Europe of Nations, 14.

67. Michael Levin, Why Race Matters: Race Differences and What They Mean (Connecticut: Praeger Publishers/Greenwood Publishing Group, 1997).

68. GI: UK and Ireland, “Generation Identity FAQ,” https://www.generation-identity.org.uk/faqs/ (accessed June 2, 2018).

69. Valencia-Garcia, “Generation Identity.”

70. GI: UK and Ireland, “Generation Identity FAQ.”

71. Fabian Virchow, “The Identitarian Movement,” in Digital Media Strategies of the Far Right in Europe and the United States, edited by Patricia Simpson and Helga Druxes, (Maryland: Lexington, 2015), 177–91.

72. Rippon, “Occupy Le Mosque.”

73. Willinger, Generation Identity.

74. Ibid., 85.

75. Daniela Pisoiu, “Subcultural Theory Applied to Jihadi and Right-wing Radicalization in Germany,” Terrorism and Political Violence 27, no. 1 (2015): 9–28.

76. Dick Hebdige, Subculture: The Meaning of Style (London: Routledge, 1994): 104, 113 in Pisoiu, “Subcultural Theory Applied to Jihadi,” 13.

77. u/toxic_ideology, “Everyone in England is a cu- ‘Stop grooming gangs. British girls matter. Generation identity’ Sign Held by Five British Men Defying the Cucks,” https://www.reddit.com/r/meme2text/comments/86wvmj/everyone_in_england_is_a_cu_stop_grooming_gangs/ (accessed July 1, 2018).

78. Gudrun Skupio, “Eschwege: Wohl Keine Volksverhetzung Durch Banner,” https://www.hna.de/lokales/witzenhausen/eschwege-ort28660/wohl-keine-volksverhetzung-durch-banner-identitaerer-bewegung-7439820.html (accessed July 1, 2018).

79. @DefendEuropeID, “Defend Europe,” https://twitter.com/defendeuropeid?lang=en (accessed July 1, 2018).

80. Ibid.

81. @GID_UKIRE, “Generation Identity: ‘#GenerationIdentity Were at the #ConservativePartyConference in #Birmingham Today Reminding Them of the Promise They Made to End Mass Immigration. They Have Abandoned Actual Conservatism to Become Social Democrats, and Are Now Not Much Different Than #Labor,” https://twitter.com/GID_UKIRE/status/1046411906884489221 (accessed July 1, 2018).

82. Nick Miller, “Report of mass sexual assault by refugees in Frankfurt was ‘baseless’, policy say,” The Sydney Morning Herald, https://www.smh.com.au/world/newspaper-report-of-mass-sexual-assault-by-refugees-in-frankfurt-was-baseless-police-say-20170216-gudybw.html (accessed February 16, 2017)

83. Laura Backes, Anna Clauss, Maria-Mercedes Hering, Beate Lakotta, Sandra Ofner, Ansgar Siemens and Achim Tack, “Is There Truth To Refugee Rape Reports?” Spiegel Online, http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/is-there-truth-to-refugee-sex-offense-reports-a-1186734.html (accessed January 17, 2018)

84. Steven Hopkins, “Katie Hopkins Schooled On How Cologne Attacks Are Not The Result Of ‘Migrant Invasion’ On LBC,” HuffPost, https://guce.huffingtonpost.co.uk/copyConsent?sessionId=4_cc-session_1c70cfa6-6c9a-4e75-afe5-8c870c70a4c1&inline=false&lang=en-gb (accessed February 7, 2016)

85. See Valencia-Garcia, “Generation Identity”; Alessandra Bocchi, “Identitarianism in Europe Versus the United States,” https://medium.com/@alessabocchi/identitarianism-in-europe-versus-the-united-states-5ce959aa3898 (accessed August 1, 2018).

86. Joe Heim, “Recounting a day of rage, hate, violence and death,” The Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/local/charlottesville-timeline/?noredirect=on%26utm_term=.75b0c97caef4 (accessed August 14, 2017).

87. @GID_UKIRE, “Generation Identity: ‘You will not make Europe home! Back to your homeland! @DefendEuropeID won’t allow migrants to invade France through the Alps any longer. Activists are taking a stand by constructing a fence and patrolling it day and night both on the ground and in the air. #StopMigrantAlpes,” https://twitter.com/gid_ukire/status/987721967703904256?lang=en (accessed July 1, 2018).

88. See Sellner’s statements in RT Producers, “Mo Ansar and Martin Sellner.”

89. ABF TV, “No Way. You Will Not Make Australia Home – English,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rT12WH4a92w (accessed July 1, 2018).

90. PVVpers, “PVV: No Way. You Will Not Make the Netherlands Home,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgCSw1JKl7A (accessed August 1, 2018).

91. @GID_UKIRE, “Generation Identity.”

92. SBS Dateline, “Dateline Europe Special.”

93. Ibid.

94. GI: UK and Ireland, “Generation Identity Summer University,” https://www.generation-identity.org.uk/generation-identity-summer-university/ (accessed September 1, 2018).

95. Dearden, “Generation Identity.”

96. Vox-Pol and ITV, “Undercover.”

97. Mark Neocleous, “Gothic Fascism,” Journal for Cultural Research 9, no. 2 (2005): 133–49.

98. See @Martin_Sellner 2014, “Martin Sellner,” Twitter, https://twitter.com/Martin_Sellner?lang=en; Faye 2011; Anonymous 2013; Willinger 2013; 2014; GI: UK and Ireland 2018d).

99. Arwa Mahdawi “When ‘Hipster Fascists’ Start Appearing in the Media, Something has Gone Very Wrong,” The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/22/when-the-media-starts-celebrating-hipster-fascists-something-has-gone-very-wrong (accessed May 22, 2018).

100. Martin Sellner GI, “Patriot Peer – Connecting the Silent Majority,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFPHRCbgdNU (accessed August 1, 2018); Martin Sellner, “The American and European Right – Lauren Southern, Brittany Pettibone & Martin Sellner,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgwerO355t0 (accessed September 1, 2018).

101. Mack Lamoureux, “The Extreme Right is Increasingly Organized, Globalized and Winning over Gen-Z,” Vice, https://www.vice.com/en_au/article/59ypnn/the-extreme-right-is-increasingly-organized-globalized-and-winning-over-gen-z (accessed October 25, 2017).

102. @DefendEvropa, “Defend Europa: ‘Great work by @gen_identity and @GenIdentEngland with their’ Defend London – Stop Islamisation ‘banner on Westminster Bridge!’” https://twitter.com/defendevropa/status/922418438181720064?lang=en (accessed August 10, 2018).

103. Sarah Wildman, “A European Alt-right Group Wants to Take to the Sea to Stop Rescuers from Saving Migrants,” Vox, https://www.vox.com/world/2017/7/6/15804196/generation-identity-identitarians-alt-right-migration-islam-refugees-europe (accessed July 17, 2017).

104. Jacob Davey and Julia Ebner, The Fringe Insurgency. Connectivity, Convergence and Mainstreaming of the Extreme Right, (London: Institute for Strategic, 2017), http://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/The-Fringe-Insurgency-221017.pdf

105. Jason Wilson, “News Corp Australia’s promotion of Lauren Southern is disturbing,” The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/commentisfree/2018/jul/16/news-corps-promotion-of-lauren-southern-is-disturbing (accessed July 16, 2018).

106. Luke Bailey, “Far-right group Generation Identity have been banned from Facebook across Europe,” I News, https://inews.co.uk/news/far-right-group-generation-identity-have-been-banned-from-facebook-across-europe-281185 (accessed June 21, 2018).

107. Generation Identitaire, “Censorship of Identity Generation on Facebook: After France, Austria and Germany,” https://generationidentitaire.org/2018/06/07/censure-de-generation-identitaire-sur-facebook-apres-la-france-lautriche-et-lallemagne/; GI: UK and Ireland, “Banned from Facebook: Generation Identity Responds,” https://www.generation-identity.org.uk/banned-from-facebook-generation-identity-responds/ (accessed August 1, 2018).

108. Chris Tomlinson, “Censorship: Entire European Identitarian movement permanently banned from Facebook,” Breitbart, https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2018/06/24/censorship-entire-european-identitarian-movement-permanently-banned-from-facebook/ (accessed 24 June 2018).

109. Matthew Sharpe, “The Long Game of the European New Right,” The Conversation, https://theconversation.com/thelong-game-of-the-european-new-right-75078 (accessed 24 March 24, 2017).

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Imogen Richards

Imogen Richards is a lecturer in criminology at Deakin University, researching in the areas of social media, extremism, and counter/terrorism. She has published on issues related to online extremism, with a focus on comparative and cross-disciplinary approaches to online criminological research. Her wider research focus extends to the performance of security, theories of violence, and drugs and crime.