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Voices of White "Resistance": The Challenge of White Nationalist Voice for Democracy and Democratic Theory

Mon, May 28, 14:00 to 15:15, Hilton Old Town, Floor: M, Dvorak II/III

Abstract

The increasing prominence of white nationalist activists and movements in a number of democratic societies around the world has become a cause of significant public concern in recent years. These groups’ willingness to resort to violence, as well as their exclusionist and even exterminationist aims, underscore the threat white nationalism poses to democratic polities. Motivated by paranoid conspiracy theories portending the forced extinction of the white race, white nationalist voices which espouse resistance, by any means necessary, to their imagined eradication cannot be integrated into pluralist democracies. Accordingly, this paper uses Nick Couldry’s theorization of voice in relation to democratic ideals as an entry point for considering these challenges. Particular attention is paid to the shortcomings of democratic theories, including Couldry’s, as well as decidedly illiberal efforts such as speech prohibition, in dealing practically with white nationalist activism.

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