The Enemy at the Gates
The IRPGF’s Position on the Rise of the Far Right in Europe and the United States

The rise of the far right in Europe and the United States is one of the most disturbing trends in the world today. As millions of people seek to escape the horrors of the wars in the Middle East and Africa in an effort to survive and to save their families and themselves, they are met with tear gas, batons and barbed wire. The fences and walls that only a few decades ago were torn down to welcome those in the Eastern Bloc countries are now built at a rapid pace to keep out those undesirable; the outsiders, the foreigners and those who are Muslim. Demagogues and parties have risen to power in numerous countries in the West with sections of the population resorting to verbal and physical violence against those perceived as threats to the “nation.” The global resurgence of the far right has even threatened the existence of the European Union, as seen with Brexit. Thus, within the far right camp, conflicting conservative positions on national, regional and international events and policies have revealed the political inconsistency and opportunism of white supremacy, nationalism and religious fundamentalism.

The ascent of Donald Trump to the presidency in the United States coincides with the rise of the far right in Europe. Trump campaigned on a nationalist and fascist platform that exploited the precarious economic positions of the downwardly mobile middle class to increase fear of the ‘other’; in this case mainly Latino and Muslim immigrants. Accompanying this rise of overt white nationalism within the establishment has been the development of the Alt-Right, a fascist political movement originating on the Internet that has created mini-celebrities out of advocates of ethnic cleansing and genocide, such as Richard Spencer and Milo Yiannopoulos, a member of an emerging white LGBTQ bourgeoisie that is Islamophobic, racist and nationalist and promotes homo- nationalism, -militarism and -imperialism. The different Alt-Right groups as well as fascist parties like the Traditionalist Worker Party under Matthew Heimbach and the KKK have developed a symbiotic relationship with the Trump regime, in which they both further normalize and legitimize their fascism by disseminating their theories in public forums such as universities and conferences. In turn, different Alt-Right groups and traditional neo-nazi street gangs have been emboldened by this normalization of white nationalism to the point that they are increasing their actions of violence on the ground. From punching queer folk on the train to burning down mosques and stealing hijabs, the far-right has found a new sense of empowerment from the establishment and is not hesitating to use it.

Within the establishment, Trump is of course following through on his nationalist commitment to put ‘America First’. He has pledged to continue plans to build a wall between the US and Mexico, triple the amount of ICE agents in every city, deport 3 million immigrants immediately with an ultimate goal of 15 million, and ban refugees and citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. Additionally, Trump has surrounded himself with a team of white nationalist and anti-queer despots, such as Mike Pence, a Christian fundamentalist and advocate of conversion camps as his VP, Steve Bannon, former CEO of Breitbart, as his Chief Strategist (a position specifically created for him), and Julie Kirchner, former member of the eugenics research group FAIR, as chief of staff of border control. Even further, the police in the US, an inherently white supremacist institution, have naturally formed a close relationship with Trump, which may only lead to even more severe and militant repression against US citizens that fall outside of or challenge the new regime and its policies. As it currently stands, unless something is done to combat this rise of fascism within the US, Trump, his regime, and his troops in the streets will rejoice as families are ripped apart and lives are destroyed.

In the international arena, Donald Trump’s fascination and warm relations with Vladimir Putin continues to stun even the most experienced political scientists and international relations experts. Yet, to anarchists, this is far from surprising. It simply reveals the emperor with no clothes; a system based on white heteronormative patriarchal capitalism. While strong authoritarian leaders like Trump and Putin seek to make amends, Russian military forces are amassing in Europe and the Middle East. In Kaliningrad, Russian units have increased in recent years leading to border closures with Poland and making the U.S. pentagon fear a conflict that will be extremely difficult to win. Russian aircraft, including long range bombers and warships have been spotted in Finland, Scandinavia and the Baltic States. This has in turn emboldened the far right in these nations which seek to increase their military might against the Russians, who they see as their age-old enemy.

The position of the Russian Federation in Europe and the Middle East is only one example of the complexity of right wing geopolitics today. The war in Ukraine which started after the Euromaidan protests in 2013–2014 pinned those who wanted Ukraine in the European Union and NATO with those who wanted it to still be in the orbit of Moscow. In actuality, it is a war pinning Ukrainian Nationalists and Fascists against Russian fascists and their allies who are a complex mix of Slavic Orthodox Christian fundamentalists, Neo-Nazis, White supremacists and Nationalist pseudo- communists. The Russian sphere of influence, which has waned since the collapse of the Soviet Union, has slowly been encroached on by the United States and NATO. The war between Russia and Georgia in the 2000’s and the paranoia of Poland, the Baltic States and other former Soviet and Warsaw pact countries indicates the complexity of the conflict which intersects not only white identity, but also religion, nationalism and historical realities in the region.

The continued wars for capital and “national interests in the Islamic world veil the darker ideological underpinnings of the nation states involved. Theological justifications, messianic expectations and crusader ideals that will supposedly herald the apocalypse and end times have set in motion a very dangerous set of events in a region exploited and oppressed for its natural resources and geostrategic value. The far right continues to perpetuate the myth that the Middle East and North Africa have been in some eternal war that has yet to be resolved because the peoples are somehow ontologically incapable of being peaceful and living with diversity. Thus, it is supposedly the enlightened Europeans and Western world that preserve and defend multiculturalism, human rights and freedom.

Back at home in Europe, far right nationalists and fascists care little about the multicultural legacy of Europe. Muslims and refugees are seen as terrorists, rapists, gangsters, drug dealers and petty criminals. They are portrayed as a burden to society and the ones who are leeching off the welfare system; getting free housing and job opportunities that citizens must wait months or years to get.

The racist and Islamophobic dimensions have become mainstream with the help of people like Geert Wilders in the Netherlands, Marine Le Pen in France, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, the Sweden Democrats (SD), True Finns in Finland, Golden Dawn in Greece and Theresa May, Boris Johnson, the EDL and UKIP in the UK.

The rise of the far right is, for the IRPGF, a direct function and result of the continuing disillusionment of the people in regards to their governments and the ongoing economic crisis. While people understand that something is deeply wrong with the system, the ones that are able to provide the simplistic “answers” are the ones who profit or seek to profit from the emerging conflicts and instability. They claim to provide an alternative by blaming those that are “other”; the refugees, the foreigners, the Muslims, gays/trans* peoples, Jews etc. The right wing calls for a return to traditional values; the family, gender roles, religion and patriotism. They want to convince people of a glorious golden age of democracy and national strength that is simply a myth.

Once again we witness that fascism is in fact a consequence of bourgeois democracy and neoliberalism. Fascism is not the opposite of the democratic state but merely a further entrenching of the democratic states’ authority. While many have rejoiced in the emergence of the far right and their ability to capture hearts, minds and state power; there are many who have realized the system is and always was bankrupt. This is where the fight for freedom and the abolition of hierarchy are a new path forward for humanity. The fight for the revolution in Rojava is about creating and defending one such society, and is a manifestation of international revolutionary struggle against capital and the nation-state.

As anarchists and members of the IRPGF, we acknowledge that pacifism only legitimizes the state and its authority. We do not recognize any borders, nations or states as legitimate. For antifascism to be effective, it must be violent; smashing the fascists and their organizations and burning and looting their spaces. While we recognize the humanity of our enemies, we realize that they give up their humanity when they embark on a crusade to oppress other people and seize state power. We will defend our spaces and fight in solidarity with all oppressed people’s wherever they are.

Only armed will we crush the far right and help to liberate people’s all over the world to organize and live on their own terms. The IRPGF members, currently fighting the fascism of Daesh in Rojava, raise their fists and Kalashnikovs in solidarity with all antifascists. We call all anarchists and antifascists to arms; to crush the far right fascist resurgence everywhere it appears and to defend all the communities and peoples that are vulnerable and under attack. Let us commit ourselves to the struggle for freedom.