The New Far Right and Its Uses of the Past

Collaboration between the Universities of Buenos Aires & Leeds

Dr Anna Grimaldi, Lecturer, School of Politics and International Studies, University of Leeds & Francisco Garcia Chicote, Lecturer, University of Buenos Aires.

This interdisciplinary and collaborative project examines the (re)turn to the far-Right in current-day Argentina and Britain through an exploratory, pilot research of two relatively new far-right political groups: UKIP (UK) and La Libertad Avanza (Argentina). It poses the question: how and to what effect are political struggles and subjectivities of the past reactivated in far-Right groups today? Drawing from sociological, historiographical and critical theory approaches, the project aims to shed light on the relationship between far-right political movements and collective memory through an aesthetic and semiotic ideological analysis of the visual symbols, discursive repertoires, and figures of the past that are called upon to mobilise individuals, legitimise claims, and shape visions for the future.

Through an analysis of Twitter posts between 2016 and today, we showcase how far-Right political movements invoke, generate, challenge and communicate the "past" through social media engagement to variety of effects.

To find out more and read the blog post, please click here.