Geographien von Wahlkampf, Medien und Gewalt: Extrem rechte Bewegungen aus assemblagetheoretischer Perspektive

Abstract

Far right movements are waging a battle against pluralistic and democratic societies in Germany and beyond. Insofar as they seek to reorder the relationship between society, power, and space, they are inherently geographical and geopolitical projects. It is therefore no surprise that the rise of a new far right in recent years has sparked attention amongst political geographers. In German political geography, engagements with far right movements and their ideology have focused on regional socio-demographic patterns in extremist attitudes and votes for far right parties, or on the discursive construction of far right world views. We suggest that a conceptual renewal is in order and examine how assemblage theory can help to better understand how far right movements engender processes of territorialization and deterritorialization in their attempt to establish authoritative and nationalist social order. Understanding these processes requires a consideration of the interplay of discursive and affective processes. We outline the possibilities of such a perspective in three contexts: First, we propose to shift the focus from election results to political campaigns, the transregional networks on which they operate, and the spatial practices they produce. Second, we suggest to expand research on geopolitical imaginations of the far right to account for the dissemination and resonance of these imaginations in online media. Third, we outline how an assemblage approach can help to analyze the geographies of violence inherent in far right projects and their production of territories.