Reactionary Politics Research Network

Interview: If you tolerate mis(ogyny), then fascisms will be next (Rob Walker) - Reactionary Politics Research Network This interview is based on Rob Walker and Kay Sidebottom's article 'If you tolerate mis(ogyny), then fascisms will be next: rewriting the classroom script through affirmative ethics' (2025)

📣New Interview📣

'Neoliberal ideology builds the structure, the structure rewards domination, and from that, both misogyny and microfascism take root.'

@imrobwalker.bsky.social and Kay Sidebottom discuss neoliberalism, microfascism, and misogyny in classroom settings.

reacpol.net/misogyny-fas...

Just one week to go before the submission deadline for the @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social annual conference. You can submit your paper to the Reactionary Politics Specialist Group stream below!

www.psa.ac.uk/events/psa-a...

ICYMI, check out @georgenewth.bsky.social's blog on the limits of Keir Starmer's 'patriotic' discourse and his ongoing enabling of the far right.

reacpol.net/starmer-farr...

Starmer has enabled the far right – promises of ‘progressive patriotism’ are no longer enough After the unite the kingdom rally, the flag raising campaigns of recent weeks now look like astroturfing.

📣 New blog 📣

'Starmer’s intervention on the side of progressive values might be a welcome one, were it not premised on a dead duck narrative of “progressive patriotism”.'

@georgenewth.bsky.social reflects on the limits of Keir Starmer's 'patriotic' discourse.

theconversation.com/starmer-has-...

Article: On reactionary politics (Aurelien Mondon) - Reactionary Politics Research Network This article by Aurelien Mondon explores the meaning of reactionary politics and its use in our current context

Core to reactionary politics is a cowardly project that aims to protect and restore privilege and hierarchies of oppression

Some thoughts on terminology and the term reactionary @reacpolrn.bsky.social

reacpol.net/on-reactiona...

PSA Annual Conference | The Political Studies Association (PSA) Political Studies Association 76th Annual International ConferencePSA26: Political Studies Futures30 March – 1 April 2026, Oxford Join us in Oxford for PSA26 to discuss 'Political Studies Futures'Our ...

📣Call for papers📣

If you are planning to attend the @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social annual conference in Oxford (30 March-1 April), please consider submitting your paper to our Rectionary Politics Specialist Group stream at the link below! Deadline: 17th October.

www.psa.ac.uk/events/psa-a...

If you missed this year's summer school but feel you would belong there, consider joining the network!

Solidarity!

reacpol.net

Another photo of the room with participants online and in person

This means that we will continue to

- keep attendance free
- provide bursaries to those who need them
- welcome researchers from all backgrounds
- pay precariously employed speakers
- facilitate attendance for those who cannot be with us in person through a hybrid and interactive format

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Room with arouhd 30 participants sitting around table and online participants on one of the screens

While securing funding for such events is difficult, we hope to keep the space alive for years to come, and crucially break accessibility barriers wherever we can

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RPSS banner next to the stairs towards the room

That's a wrap!

The second edition of the Reactionary Politics Summer School is over!

Once again, it was incredibly energizing to share this space with critical, committed researchers from all over the world ❤️‍

More info about the RPSS below

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reacpol.net/summer-schoo...

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

You can find Meaghan's open access research article, which this interview is based on, here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Interview: Manosphere creep in Netflix’s Adolescence (Meaghan Furlano) - Reactionary Politics Research Network This interview is based on Meaghan Furlano's article 'Manosphere creep: Emotional and hermeneutic labour in Netflix’s Adolescence' (2025)

📣New interview📣

'Sentiments that are popular in the manosphere—like the idea that women’s “purpose” is to serve men—have their roots in more “mainstream” norms and histories.'

Meaghan Furlano discusses 'manosphere creep' in the context of Netflix's Adolescence.

reacpol.net/manosphere-c...

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

📣New open access research article 📣

Our member, Meaghan Furlano, discusses how emotional and hermeneutic labour are presented in Netflix's Adolescence. Check it out below!

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Bringing critical social psychology to the study of political polarization The study of political polarization, in both its ideological and its affective expressions, has garnered significantly more interest over the last years. But despite recent research on the conceptual....

You can find Daniel's research article, which this interview is based on here: compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Interview: Bringing critical social psychology to the study of political polarization (Daniel Balinhas) - Reactionary Politics Research Network This interview is based on Daniel Balinhas's article 'Bringing critical social psychology to the study of political polarization' (2025)

📣New interview📣

''Polarisation’ is used not only by those concerned with democratic erosion, but also by those seeking to protect ‘really existing (neo)liberalism’ from democratic critique'

@daniel-balinhas.bsky.social discusses his critical approach to 'polarisation'

reacpol.net/critical-pol...

Article: Why Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle campaign is part of a wider cultural backlash (Meaghan Furlano) - Reactionary Politics Research Network This article by Meaghan Furlano explores recent campaign by American Eagle with Sydney Sweeney

📣New blog📣

'Thin is back in and whiteness is re-associated with rightness.'

Our member, Meghan Furlano, on why Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle campaign is part of a wider cultural backlash.

reacpol.net/sweeney-amer...

Interview: Psychoanalytic theory, critical fantasy studies and the normalisation of the far right (Pasko Kisić-Merino) - Reactionary Politics Research Network This interview is based on Pasko Kisić-Merino's thesis 'Enjoying the Fall: The Normalisation of the Far-Right as an Algorithmically-Mediated Fantasy of Ontological (In)Security' (2025)

📣New interview📣

@paskokisic.bsky.social discusses how psychoanalytic theory can help us understand the contemporary far right and its normalisation. Check it out below!

reacpol.net/psychoanalyt...

Interview: On the weaponisation of anti-antisemitism by the far right (Claire Burchett) - Reactionary Politics Research Network This interview is based on Claire Burchett's thesis 'Everyday victimhood on social media The discussion of Jews and (anti-)antisemitism in the populist radical right online space in France, Germany, a...

ICYMI check out @cburchett.bsky.social's interview on the far right's weaponisation of anti-antisemitism as part of their Islamophobic agenda.

reacpol.net/weaponisatio...

'Fascism and the Women’s Cause offers a vital and unvarnished insight into the ways in which historical campaigns for women’s rights often intertwined with far right and fascist ideas about gender, race, class, and empire.'

Thank you @drkatw.bsky.social and @reacpolrn.bsky.social for the review.

You can find Mohamed's research article, which this interview is based on, here: brill.com/view/journal...

Interview: Reinventing the Right in Morocco (Mohamed Salhi) - Reactionary Politics Research Network This interview is based on Mohamed Salhi's article 'Reinventing the Right in Morocco: Right-Wing Populist Discourses and Sentiments in Moroccan Online Spaces ' (2025)

📣New interview📣

@uselesssimo.bsky.social discusses reactionary digital cultures in Morocco and their links to the global far right. Check it out below!

reacpol.net/right-morocco/

You can find more information on the reviewed book here: www.ebb-magazine.com/books/p/fasc...

Book review: Fascism and the Women’s Cause - Reactionary Politics Research Network Book review of Charnley and Richmond's Fascism and the Womens' Cause by Katherine Williams

📣New review📣

@drkatw.bsky.social reviews Alex Charnley and Michael Richmond's (@sisyphusa.bsky.social) 'Fascism and the Women's Cause', reflecting on the how tenets of women’s rights and agency are central to contemporary attempts to reinvigorate fascism.

reacpol.net/fascism-wome...

Hide and seek: extreme-right leadership and communication tactics behind bars in Greece This study critically examines how the Greek extreme-right harnesses persuasive communication and tactical campaigning under severe constraints, focusing on Ilias Kasidiaris – a former Golden Dawn ...

You can find Georgios' research article, which this interview is based on, here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Interview: Extreme-right leadership and communication tactics behind bars in Greece (Georgios Samaras) - Reactionary Politics Research Network This interview is based on Georgios Samaras's article 'Hide and seek: extreme-right leadership and communication tactics behind bars in Greece' (2025)

📣New interview📣

@gsamaras.bsky.social discusses the Greek neo-Nazi party, Golden Dawn, and the limitations of legal repression in tackling the far right.

reacpol.net/golden-dawn/

Only two weeks to go until applications for the Reactionary Politics Summer School close. Sign up below!

Interview: On the weaponisation of anti-antisemitism by the far right (Claire Burchett) - Reactionary Politics Research Network This interview is based on Claire Burchett's thesis 'Everyday victimhood on social media The discussion of Jews and (anti-)antisemitism in the populist radical right online space in France, Germany, a...

📣New interview📣

@cburchett.bsky.social discusses the weaponisation of anti-antisemitism by far-right parties and its role in their Islamophobic discourse.

reacpol.net/weaponisatio...

Interview: Sexual violence in racial capitalism (Alison Phipps) - Reactionary Politics Research Network This interview is based on Alison Phipps's forthcoming book Sexual Violence in Racial Capitalism (2025)

"The coloniality of sexual violence tells us that white supremacy both enacts rampant sexual violence and projects it onto the Other."

Alison Phipps reflects on sexual violence in racial capitalism in her interview with the RPRN.

reacpol.net/sexual-viole...

Interview: Researching and Understanding Far-Right Politics in Times of Mainstreaming (George Newth) - Reactionary Politics Research Network This interview is based on George Newth et al's article 'Researching and Understanding Far-Right Politics in Times of Mainstreaming' (2025)

'Being nominally a mainstream actor does not mean that one cannot support or implement far-right politics, espouse and promote far-right discourse or legitimise and embolden far- and extreme-right actors'

reacpol.net/far-right-ma...

Applications for our Reactionary Politics Summer School are still open. The sessions will focus on how to understand, study, and disseminate research on reactionary politics. Sign up below!