[Commlist] Call for Papers - Right Now: Contemporary Forms of Far-Right Populism and Fascism in the Global South

First call for papers

Acta Academica: critical views on society, culture and politics

Special issue

Right Now: Contemporary Forms of Far-Right Populism and Fascism in the 
Global South

edited by Ewa Latecka, Jean du Toit & Gregory Swer



Recent years have seen the global emergence of populist political 
formations, leading certain scholars to term our present age the “age of 
populism” (Krastev 2011, Nandy 2019, Ricci 2020) and some politicians, 
such as Hungary’s current prime minister Viktor Orbán, to proclaim that 
“the era of liberal democracy is over” (Santora & Bienvenu 2018). 
Contemporary forms of populism are characterized by ‘us’ (often ‘the 
people’ in an ethnic or communal sense) versus ‘them’ (usually liberal 
elites, the establishment, minorities, or immigrants) forms of binary 
thinking (Berman 2021). For some, the rise of contemporary populism 
inherently represents the resurgence of forms of reactionary populist 
nationalism, ranging from the ‘radical’ to the ‘extreme’ right, and the 
revitalization of forms of ideology that may be termed ‘neo-fascist’. 
The great challenge for contemporary democracies is that, in contrast to 
dictators who seize power via coups, the aforementioned political 
movements come to power via the ballot box (Levitsky & Ziblatt 2018).

In light of the revitalization of such political formations, the South 
African Society for Critical Theory invites contributions to a special 
issue of Acta Academica on the topic of: “Contemporary Forms of 
Far-Right Populism and Fascism in the Global South”.

This special issue invites papers that cast a critical perspective upon 
the political dimensions of the current proliferation of extreme forms 
of reactionary politics and the social conditions that gave rise, and 
are in the process of giving rise, to such movements. We invite 
explorations of the historical and theoretical roots of current forms of 
far-right populism and fascism (FRP/F), critical engagement with 
present-day problems that are resultant of their preponderance, as well 
as analyses of the cultural forces and tendencies that have led to, and 
are leading to, their contemporary ascendance. Submissions may also 
consider the question of whether it is possible to develop a general 
theory of FRP/F in contemporary society, present inquiries into the 
future development of FRP/F, or investigate opportunities for opposition 
to FRP/F in the present context. Whilst papers that offer critical 
analyses of any aspect of contemporary far right populism and/or fascism 
will be considered for publication, the guest editors particularly 
welcome papers that focus on such matters in relation to the Southern 
hemisphere.

Further questions include:

·         How might the paradoxes inherent in reactionary politics be 
exposed and weaponised in order to disrupt FRP/F formations?

·         In what ways are contemporary forms of FRP/F the products of 
capitalist society?

·         What links FRP/F to a liberal/neo-liberal socio-economic 
past/present?

·         Is the present shift to the right in global politics related 
to recent crises in the capitalist socio-economic system?

·         Herbert Marcuse argued that three tenets linked liberalism to 
fascism, namely Universalism, Naturalism, and Political existentialism; 
to what extent do these tenets hold true of the relations between 
neo-liberalism and contemporary FRP/F?

Specific topics may also include:

·                    COVID and FRP/F – What effect has the COVID-19 
pandemic, and governmental responses to it, had upon FRP/F movements and 
their popularity? Are anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination protests 
facilitating the propagation and mainstreaming of far-right extremist 
politics?

·                    Far-Right Populism and Capitalism – Do contemporary 
forms of FRP/F serve to destabilise neo-liberal capitalism? Or do they 
rather serve to mobilise social groups threatened by the economic status 
quo in defence of that status quo and of the systems of production that 
underlie it? Do such forms of FRP/F go hand-in-hand with neoliberalism 
in an “authoritarian turn”?

·                    FRP/F and Conspiracy Theories – To what extent do 
the political and social narratives propounded by FRP/F movements 
constitute a form of mythology, in that they preserve the existing 
social order by mystifying socio-economic conditions? What 
symbols/icons/myths/cultural apparatuses do FRP/F use as instruments of 
mass mobilisation?

·                    What forms of critical praxis can one engage in to 
reverse the course of FRP/F society and actualise the progressive, 
liberatory forces within it?

·                    Freedom and the Far Right – What form of (debased) 
liberation does FRP/F offer its supporters? What gratification does it 
provide? What role does the discourse of liberty play in its mass appeal?

·                    What kind of personality is drawn to FRP/F 
movements? And what forms that personality? The first generation of the 
Frankfurt School laid particular emphasis on the role of the family as 
the transmitter of social norms regarding respect for and submission to 
authority. Does the family play a similar role in the transmission of 
reactionary values in contemporary society? Is there a link between 
reactionary rhetoric concerning the sanctity of the family, and the 
preservation of patriarchal structures of authority?

·                    Beyond Tropical Fascism – Are there indigenous 
forms of FRP/F or do they always derive from the legacy of European 
settler colonialism? Is it even meaningful to apply theoretical 
categories derived from European history to contemporary societies 
outside the European sphere? Or are there universal commonalities in 
FRP/F thought? What is populism/far-right populism/fascism in the Global 
South? In what ways is each instance peculiar to its own socio-cultural 
circumstances?

·                    Environment and Politics – what role does 
environmental discourse play in contemporary far-right rhetoric?

·                    The analysis of fascism was a central concern of 
the first generation of the Frankfurt School. Do the Frankfurt School 
still offer us resources for the critique and comprehension of 
contemporary FRP/F? Or is their work outmoded? What thinkers should we 
draw upon to develop a contemporary understanding of FRP/F in general, 
and the Global South in particular?

·                    How is FRP/F transmitted through the mass media and 
popular culture? And how do FRP/F movements utilise mass media and 
popular culture to transmit their ideology? What makes FRP/F use of 
social media effective? Towards which social groups is it directed? How 
have contemporary Information and Communication technologies (ICTs) 
facilitated and fostered the growth and popularity of such movements?

·                    In contemporary politics, conservative and 
liberatory intentions are frequently interconnected. What 
anti-capitalist and utopian elements are contained in contemporary forms 
of FRP/F? And how might a genuine Critical Theory meet these needs in a 
progressive, emancipatory way?

The editors welcome approaches from all aspects of Critical Theory, 
broadly construed. e.g. the three generations of Frankfurt School 
Critical Theory, Africana Critical Theory, Black Existentialism, 
Postcolonial Theory, De-colonial Theory, Critical Feminism, Critical 
Sociology, Critical Film Studies, Critical Race Theory, Critical Theory 
of Technology, Critical Legal Studies, Post-structuralism, 
Psychoanalysis, Critical Hermeneutics, Liberation Theory, Critical 
Pedagogy, Critical Theology, Critical Anthropology, etc.



Please submit papers by the  28th February 2022 via 
http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/aa/about/submissions and follow the 
instructions there.

Alternatively, should you experience any difficulties with the journal’s 
electronic submission process, send your paper via email to 
(eloffpr /at/ ufs.ac.za).

Please make sure to clearly indicate that the submission is intended for 
the special issue.

Guidelines for authors are available from 
http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/aa/information/authors

Please consult these guidelines before submitting.

Should you have queries regarding any aspect of the special issue, 
please do not hesitate to contact the guest editors:

Ewa Latecka: (LateckaE /at/ unizulu.ac.za)

Jean du Toit: (jean.dutoit /at/ nwu.ac.za)

Gregory Swer: (gregswer /at/ gmail.com)

Bibliography



Berman, S. 2021. The Causes of Populism in the West. Annu. Rev. 
Political Sci. 2021. 24:71–88

Krastev I. 2011. The age of populism: reflections on the self-enmity of 
democracy. Eur. View 10(1):11–16

Levitsky S, Ziblatt D. 2018. How Democracies Die. New York: Broadway Books

Nandy L. 2019. What the age of populism means for our liberal democracy. 
Political Q. 90:462–69

Ricci D. 2020. A Political Science Manifesto for the Age of Populism: 
Challenging Growth, Markets, Inequality and Resentment. New York: 
Cambridge Univ. Press

Santora M, Bienvenu H. 2018. Secure in Hungary, Orban readies for battle 
with Brussels. New York Times, May 11. 
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/11/world/europe/hungary-victor-orbanimmigration-europe.html


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