Geographies of Fascism

In the past decade, far-right and right-wing populist movements have gained significant ground around the world. This is evident in the growth of far-right parties in parliaments in Europe, Israel and elsewhere, and the rise of leaders such as Trump, Farage, Modi, Meloni, Le Pen, Orbán, Bolsonaro, and Kicki. Under conditions of neoliberal breakdown, the far-right is demonstrating its capacity to mobilize the social forces of national decline through aggressive nationalism and nostalgia-fuelled promises of a return to previous glory. For many, the rise of these anti-immigrant, racist, Islamophobic, and anti-left parties suggests the return of fascist power in the West, spurring a renewed interest in the conditions that gave rise to fascism in Europe in the 1930s. Others are picking up the problem of fascism not as an historically specific movement but as an ineluctable human tendency or logic, an ever-present possibility. At the same time, there are those who question whether ‘fascism’ is useful for understanding the contemporary threat posed by the rise of the radical right. 

This workshop is an opportunity to consider these questions and to learn from each other’s work and thought as it pertains to fascism. We believe that geographers have much to add to broader conversations on this topic, potentially addressing questions of how fascism operates across borders and bodies, through affect and ideology, and within both digital and built environments. We also wager that geographical imaginations can provide resources for opposing fascistic resurgence and imagining alternative political futures.