far right

How Must We Respond to MAGA Threats of Political Violence?

by Tom Nichols

"Finally, there’s nothing wrong with some dismissive scorn among sensible voters. These people are not 10 feet tall. They are, in fact, small and ridiculous."

Thomas Zimmer on Danger and Hope for Democracy

The historian and podcaster says hope for a multicultural democracy lies with the young: "Preserving the status quo will not be good enough, and the younger generation understands this better than any other."

Why is the American Right so Thirsty for Generalissimo Franco?

by David Austin Walsh

Increasingly "respectable" conservative intellectuals are openly advocating for a dictator to enforce cultural traditionalism as part of a battle to control the politics of elite institutions.

The Path to January 6 Ran Through the Obama-Era Tea Party

The closeness of the Oath Keepers militia group to the Tea Party movement was hardly a guarded secret in the 2010s. 

Maddow's Documentary Follows American Nazis in the 1940s—Does it Miss a Bigger Danger?

by Nelson Lichtenstein

The legal and law enforcement response to the rise of pro-Nazi groups in pre-WWII America was part of a growing national security state that would be used against dissent from the left and which the far right today seeks to use as a weapon. 

Jeff Sharlet on the Intersectional Erotics of Fascism

by Annika Brockschmidt

In an interview with historian Annika Brockschmidt, journalist Jeff Sharlet discusses his new book on the "slow civil war" in America and the need to understand how the far right is sustained by the pleasure of ceasing to resist the tide of anger and instead being carried by it. 

With the New Twitter, the Right Wing Disinfo is Coming from the Top

by Donald Moynihan

"Musk often refers to himself as moderate or independent, but he routinely treats far-right fringe figures as people worth taking seriously—and, more troublingly, as reliable sources of information."

What I Saw when I Snuck In to the British National Conservatism Conference

by Seth Thévoz

If a group of fervent young British conservatives were packed into a wood-paneled room in Westminster with the freedom to say what the pleased, what would a party-crashing historian and journalist hear? 

Proud Boys' Convictions for Seditious Conspiracy Won't End the Far Right Threat

by Tom Mockaitis

Despite the conviction of leading organizers of the January 6 attack on the Capitol (which aimed at overturning Joe Biden's election), the extreme right will remain a threat, partly because of the flourishing of online channels for hate and partly because the Republican Party has framed the insurrection as legitimate political expression. 

Matthew Dallek: The Birchers Won By Losing

The defeat of Barry Goldwater in 1964 was supposed to mark the demise of the conspiratorial right. Matthew Dallek's book explains how the fringe rose to dominate the Republican Party in 2024, in part because of the shortsightedness of liberal elites. 

Kathleen Belew: "Lone Wolf" Label Obscures Key Networks of Far Right Extremism

While hardly representative of all veterans, the far right in the 20th and 21st centuries has actively recruited former military members into their networks. 

Does Tucker's Path Lead to (Alex) Jonestown?

Like Alex Jones, Tucker Carlson's success hinged on smuggling far-right conspiratorial views into the mainstream through incredulity and absurdity to encourage viewers to accept an alternate, grievance-driven reality. 

How Fox News Helped Break the American Right

by Matthew Dallek

The Republican Party has long struggled to keep extremists within its ranks at bay, if partly for political reasons. But the rise of Fox News has destroyed the guardrails older generations of mainstream conservatives set up against conspiracists, hatemongers, and bigots. 

Trump's Choice of Waco is Waving the Bloody Shirt to the Far Right

by Nicole Hemmer

By rallying in Waco at the 30th anniversary of the Branch Davidian siege and killings, Trump has signaled to the far right and the militia movement that he's their candidate. 

How "Christian" is Christian Nationalism?

Historian Kathryn Gin Lum, among other scholars, helps to shed light on the paradox that those who believe America is a "Christian nation" hold that view with greater militancy even as religious observance declines. 

Edsall: Is Trump Trapping the GOP in Conspiratorial Madness?

Ron DeSantis can bolster his standing with the right by governing. Donald Trump, still the leader of the party, must invoke conspiracies and cartoonishly evil enemies. Historian Jeffrey Herf helps Thomas Edsall understand if there's an off-ramp. 

Why is Italy's Far Right Embracing Dante?

Italy's original Fascists embraced Dante as a marker of national chauvinism, and a prophet of authoritarianism; today's far right has renewed their enthusiasm for the poet. 

How the Right Got Waco Wrong

by Paul Renfro

Historian Paul Renfro reviews Kevin Cook's new book, which seeks to explain how the 1993 siege of the Branch Davidian cult's Waco compound became a totem for the right while also decrying the aggressive law enforcement tactics that escalated the situation toward mass death. 

Inside the Neonazi Homeschool Community

"A concerted, decades-long campaign by right-wing Christian groups to deregulate home schooling has afforded parents wide latitude in how they teach their kids — even if that means indoctrinating them with explicit fascism."

The Real Failures of January 6

by Karen J. Greenberg

Despite surface similarities, the attack on Brazil's government buildings earlier this month differed from January 6, 2021 in one key respect: the transfer of presidential power had already been accomplished. The contrast is sobering—for America.