Anti-imperialism and anti-colonialism of the radical right: a proposed categorisation

Abstract

It is often assumed that anti-imperialism and anti-colonialism are related to liberal or left-wing ideological legacies. After all, numerous radical right-wing thinkers, movements and regimes supported imperialism and colonialism. However, this paper analyses and provides examples of a wide range of radical right intellectuals and movements from all over the world and across different historical periods that have held anti-imperialist and anti-colonialist positions. It also proposes a categorisation that summarises the radical right’s main anti-imperialist positions, distinguishing between “principled anti-imperialism”, “opportunistic anti-imperialism” and “imperialist anti-imperialism”, in order to highlight the similarities and differences between these categories. It concludes, nevertheless, that this classification should be seen as a starting point for debate and complemented by future research.

Keywords

• anti-imperialism
• anti-colonialism
• radical right
• fascism
• aleksandr dugin
• nouvelle droite
• islamic state organisation