Australia is experiencing a resurgence of Neo-Nazi activism post the COVID-19 pandemic which is concerning and reflects global trends of rising far-right political actors. In light of this resurgence and global trend, academic works often neglect the political ongoings of Australia despite the far-right being one of the most researched political ideologies and groups. My thesis intends to make a contribution concerning Neo-Nazism activism in Australia, and to contribute a nuanced analysis of Neo-Nazism activism pertaining to the role of affect and emotion in activist behaviour that is often sidelined. By moving beyond discussions of Neo-Nazism activism as simply a movement unified by ‘hatred’, my thesis aims to provide a nuanced understanding of affect and emotion and its role in collective identity formation, gendered behavioural displays and hierarchies, and how it informs political activism. My research approach and target demographic is informed by my positionality, and is integral to my thesis. Informed by interpretivist and feminist research epistemologies, my research is positioned as critical of our socially constructed political order. With this approach, language is considered a valid unit of analysis and has me as the researcher central to my research design and analytical interpretations. My chosen method is reflexive thematic analysis, specifically looking at Neo-Nazi Telegram chatlogs and videos from said chatlogs. My analytical approach utilises affective economies to understand and demonstrate how affect and emotions have political implications/outcomes within my research context. Currently, my analysis is in its preliminary stages. I have inferred that affect and emotion are used to inform collective identity and solidarity through the emotions of disgust and grievance respectively. My use of affective economies has also helped me infer how gender hierarchies are formed within my chosen Australian Neo-Nazi communities through morality/virtue policing, and how femininity is only discussed through humour or mockery in order to be defined as ‘less-than’. I intend to present these preliminary findings with examples alongside my rationale. Moving forward, I intend to present more concrete findings at a later time. Lastly, I intend to make a contribution through terminology work and how the field of far-right research can define ‘the far-right’ moving forward.
