Research

Dissertation: Mainstreaming Extremism: Pathways from the Margins to the Mainstream

What can explain the variation in mainstream presence of extremist ideologies and conspiratorial beliefs? Extant research addresses the role of critical junctures, psychological predispositions, or social media algorithms. These approaches help explain why individuals adopt extremist ideologies, but not why some ideologies move into the mainstream, while others do not. This dissertation adds to those explanations by (1) treating extremist ideologies and conspiratorial beliefs as objects of analysis, and (2) by showing that these extremist ideologies become legible when they are aligned with political and cultural contexts. In doing so, I introduce political and cultural alignment, two concepts that can help explain this variation. Cultural alignment refers to the convergence of extremist ideologies and conspiratorial beliefs with widely shared cultural symbols, myths, and nostalgic narratives. Political alignment refers to the convergence of extremist ideologies and conspiratorial beliefs with the rhetoric of influential political actors. Each form of alignment is a graded phenomenon, referring to minimal, weak, and strong alignment, which helps explain why some ideologies remain on the margins despite high visibility and why others are fully embedded in mainstream political and cultural discourse.

I examine political and cultural alignment through four case studies, each of which demonstrate a different variation of alignment. First, a content analysis of an incel forum reveals how misogynistic discourses leverage cultural nostalgia and symbolic gender hierarchies to normalize extremist attitudes. Here, I find evidence for strong cultural alignment and weak political alignment. Second, a textual analysis of the Great Replacement conspiracy theory demonstrates how narratives of demographic threat gain mainstream resonance through appeals to moral decline and national myths. In this case study, I find evidence for strong political and cultural alignment. Third, an analysis of Telegram messages surrounding the 2020 U.S. presidential election traces the amplification of election-fraud narratives via digital platforms, demonstrating a top-down mechanism of mainstreaming. I find strong political alignment and weak cultural alignment. Finally, an analysis of social media groups discussing the chemtrail conspiracy theory demonstrates how conspiracy theories can persist despite minimal political alignment and the absence of cultural alignment.

         I find that in cases with strong political and cultural alignment, mainstreaming is more likely and more embedded within political and cultural discourse. I also find that weak alignment, whether political or cultural, can create the permissive conditions for an extremist ideology or conspiratorial belief to take hold. I make two contributions: I show that the cultural context is an important and understudied factor in explaining the mainstreaming of extremist ideologies and conspiratorial beliefs, and that extremist ideologies draw upon and repurpose this existing cultural context. Further, I highlight the importance of the interplay between political and cultural contexts in mainstreaming extremism. This has implications for future research, as these insights show that countering the mainstreaming of extremist beliefs requires an understanding of the cultural and political contexts that make these extremist ideologies and conspiratorial beliefs legible and resonant.

Comparative Homonationalisms: Far-Right Visions of LGB(TQ+) Belonging in the United States and the Netherlands (with Jana Foxe) (Revise & Resubmit at The European Journal of Politics and Gender)

This article examines variations in homonationalist discourse among far-right parties in the United States and the Netherlands. We theorize two particular forms: White Christian homonationalism, rooted in frontier nationalism and muscular Christianity, and secular homonationalism, grounded in civic secularism and nativist ideals of tolerance. Using Critical Discourse Analysis of party manifestos and campaign materials, we show how these discourses discipline LGBTQ+ identities, particularly TQ+ identities, by reinforcing binary gender norms through national myth-making. Far-right homonationalism constructs the “proper homosexual subject” to legitimize exclusionary nationalism. Masculinity plays a central role in shaping national myths and out-grouping dynamics, with differential implications for how TQ+ identities are framed as threats. MAGA discourse aligns with White Christian homonationalism, PVV with secular homonationalism, and FvD integrates characteristics of both. These findings challenge assumptions about far-right support for LGBTQ+ rights, and reveal the gendered logics of nationalist belonging.

Reframing the Future: The Far-Right's Narrative of the Great Replacement and Its Cultural Resonance 

The Great Replacement conspiracy theory has gained increasing attention in recent years, evolving from a fringe online far-right discourse into a broader political narrative. The Great Replacement theory holds that a group of elite political actors are deliberately replacing Western, White people through immigration. This means that immigration is perceived as an existential threat to the White, Western cultural and racial identity. This paper argues that the Great Replacement theory is not a novel development but rather a resurgence of longstanding historical and cultural narratives that have shaped Western anxieties about identity, belonging and demographic change. By analyzing four lone actor manifestos, this study examines how these manifestos utilize symbols, myths and narratives to justify ideological extremism and political violence. The findings demonstrate that the Great Replacement theory is drawing upon the existing cultural context, using cultural symbols, myths and narratives, rather than a new movement. Its potential to incite political violence underscores the need for addressing its historical and cultural roots.

Shades of Supporters: Football Supporters and Their Impact on Democratic Politics (with Sebastian Mayer) 

This paper examines the impact and influence of European soccer supporters on democratic engagement. In particular, the paper investigates if this influence is positive or negative. On the one hand, European soccer supporters often engage in political activity in club politics, such as voting for club leadership or voicing opinions about proposed club policies. Moreover, being part of a club can create a sense of belonging and build identity. Through participation in club politics, soccer supporters may develop a heightened sense of representation, active decision-making, and political efficacy – all of which may socialize them into broader political participation outside of club politics. This, we argue, is the positive effect of sports fandom on democratic politics.  On the other hand, there also exists a darker side of supporter’s engagement with soccer clubs. A sense of belonging and identity formation within these groups can lead to the amplification of extremist ideologies, and in turn, create a pipeline to far-right radicalization. This, then, constitutes a negative effect on democratic politics. Using examples from soccer supporters in the Netherlands, Germany, and England, this paper advances our understanding of the role that soccer, and sports fandom in particular, can play in political participation, civic engagement, and democratic politics more broadly. Ultimately, the paper argues that political engagement among soccer fans is largely positive for democracy, while taking care to note that some caution about the negative effects is warranted within this dynamic.