Wardens of Civilisation : The Political Ecology of Australian Far-Right Civilisationism
(2023) In Antipode 55(2). p.548-573- Abstract
The notion of a superior “civilisation” has been a hallmark of the politics of Western institutions and fringe white supremacists alike. Known ideologically as “civilisationism”, it has occupied a prominent position in the ideology of the Australian far-right. Paying tribute to their settler-colonial origins, the far-right has consistently promoted “white civilisation”, even inspiring terrorist attacks. Despite this propensity for violence, far-right civilisationism remains largely unexplored. Through investigating a dataset of Australian far-right content, this paper reveals civilisationism as a significant part of their ideology, an ideology which relies on the idealisation of European technologies and environments to render... (More)
The notion of a superior “civilisation” has been a hallmark of the politics of Western institutions and fringe white supremacists alike. Known ideologically as “civilisationism”, it has occupied a prominent position in the ideology of the Australian far-right. Paying tribute to their settler-colonial origins, the far-right has consistently promoted “white civilisation”, even inspiring terrorist attacks. Despite this propensity for violence, far-right civilisationism remains largely unexplored. Through investigating a dataset of Australian far-right content, this paper reveals civilisationism as a significant part of their ideology, an ideology which relies on the idealisation of European technologies and environments to render Indigenous land and people uncivilised. A critical narrative analysis of the data illustrates the ways that these ecological factors are drawn into narrative to articulate Australian far-right civilisationism, an ideology inseparable from the political ecology of European history and colonialism, that today represents a particularly virulent version of its legacy.
(Less)
- author
- McFadden, Alexandra
- publishing date
- 2023
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- civilisationism, ecology, environment, far-right, settler colonialism, technology
- in
- Antipode
- volume
- 55
- issue
- 2
- pages
- 548 - 573
- publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85141797370
- ISSN
- 0066-4812
- DOI
- 10.1111/anti.12903
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- id
- 28af317a-238f-4119-80ab-b141905535f7
- date added to LUP
- 2022-12-05 14:54:36
- date last changed
- 2023-10-26 15:00:36
@article{28af317a-238f-4119-80ab-b141905535f7,
abstract = {{<p>The notion of a superior “civilisation” has been a hallmark of the politics of Western institutions and fringe white supremacists alike. Known ideologically as “civilisationism”, it has occupied a prominent position in the ideology of the Australian far-right. Paying tribute to their settler-colonial origins, the far-right has consistently promoted “white civilisation”, even inspiring terrorist attacks. Despite this propensity for violence, far-right civilisationism remains largely unexplored. Through investigating a dataset of Australian far-right content, this paper reveals civilisationism as a significant part of their ideology, an ideology which relies on the idealisation of European technologies and environments to render Indigenous land and people uncivilised. A critical narrative analysis of the data illustrates the ways that these ecological factors are drawn into narrative to articulate Australian far-right civilisationism, an ideology inseparable from the political ecology of European history and colonialism, that today represents a particularly virulent version of its legacy.</p>}},
author = {{McFadden, Alexandra}},
issn = {{0066-4812}},
keywords = {{civilisationism; ecology; environment; far-right; settler colonialism; technology}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{2}},
pages = {{548--573}},
publisher = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
series = {{Antipode}},
title = {{Wardens of Civilisation : The Political Ecology of Australian Far-Right Civilisationism}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/anti.12903}},
doi = {{10.1111/anti.12903}},
volume = {{55}},
year = {{2023}},
}