By: Allen Hansen
In Western societies, liberal democracy has been the reigning political structure for most of modern history. However, recently across Western culture, there has been a drastic increase in far-right activity across Europe and North America. Far-right groups have increased in numbers and activity across Western societies; these groups have also seen more legitimate support in recent times from politicians and mainstream media. A prime example of this would be the president of the United States, Donald Trump, failing to denounce far-right group the Proud Boys during the first presidential debate of 2020 (Smith, et al, 2020). While there is some debate about what exactly far-right means, and there can be differences among far-right groups, some common factors of far-right groups and ideology include an opposition to immigration and ethnic diversity, as well as support for populist and authoritarian rhetoric and actions (Muis and Immerzeel, 2017). The surge in far-right activity has often resulted in violence, such as during the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017 that resulted in a far-right protester driving his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, injuring 19 people and killing Heather Heyer (Keneally, 2018). Far-right violence such as this has increased as far-right support has grown, and this violence will continue as people continue to join the far-right. This then begs the question: what is causing the increase in far-right activity across Western societies?
Causes of Far-Right activity: Three Different Theories
When analyzing the causes of far-right activity, there are two schools of thought: supply and demand. The supply side can be broken down into internal and external supply. Supply side explanations emphasize the effect that current conditions have on creating a “supply” of far-right opportunity. Internal supply refers to the accessibility and appeal of far-right organizations, including the sense of camaraderie that members get from other members of their far-right organizations (Bliuc, et al, 2020). The internal supply also accounts for the appeal that far-right groups can have as a counterculture movement or because of a charismatic leader as described by Samantha Kurtner’s study on Proud Boys membership (Kutner, 2020). External supply factors are conditions outside of far-right groups themselves that create the opportunity for far-right activity to grow. One example of this theory is Arlinda Rrustemi’s study on the effect illiberal political structures have on far-right activity in Southern-Eastern Europe (Rrustemi, 2020). Another external supply factor is the rise of the internet in allowing far-right groups to connect and express their views (Starr, 2020).
Alternatively, demand side explanations determine the cause of far-right activity as perceived threats from outside influences that push people to the far-right. Two examples of this theory are the rise in far-right activity in Australia from an increase in Muslim migrants and ISIS activity (Hutchinson, 2017), and perceived economic and cultural threats from foreigners in Europe (Lucassen & Lubbers, 2012). Demand side explanations are the most compelling because while supply side causes may make the growth of far-right activity easier, it is the demand for far-right activity that pushes people to join the far-right and engage in far-right acts of violence.
Supply Side (Internal)
The internal aspect of supply side theory highlights the effects that the unique aspects of far-organizations have on generating activity. A report written by Ana-Marie Bliuc and others notes the effect that online members of far-right communities have on each other by providing support for each other’s feelings and actions (Bliuc, et al, 2020). They claim that these communities often become crucial to the member’s self-identity and continually reinforce each other’s beliefs leading to more extreme ideologies (Bliuc et al, 2020). Bliuc’s study shows how the sense of camaraderie that exists within far-right groups pushes members to commit extreme acts in the name of the collective ideology of the group.
Kutner’s study analyzes a specific far-right group, The Proud Boys, and the reason why individual members joined. The study finds several reasons why the participants joined, and most of the reasons are less political and more concerned with what is perceived by members as attractive qualities. Some of these reasons include the counterculture aesthetic the Proud Boys have and an affection for the Proud Boys’ founder Gavin McInnis, a minor celebrity who gained some popularity prior to the founding of the Proud Boys (Kutner, 2020). This study found that it is largely the characteristics of the Proud Boys that appeal to members of the group. These two studies show how the supply side theory works by demonstrating the effect that appealing characteristics of far-right groups have on membership and activity.
Supply Side (External)
External supply side theory emphasizes the effects that factors outside of far-right organizations have on far-right membership. In a report by Dr. Arlinda Rrustemi analyzing far-right trends in South-Eastern European countries, she finds that an illiberal political structure and the expression of far-right ideas on ethnic issues provides ample opportunity for far-right ideology and activity to flourish (Rrustemi, 2020). This is further exacerbated by the influence authoritarian countries like Russia have in the region (Rrustemi, 2020). The social and political conditions of South-Eastern Europe are provided as significant reasons for the rise of far-right activity in the area.
An article written by Paul Starr analyzing a book by Andrew Marantz, finds that the development of the internet is the major cause for the increase of far-right activity today. Starr’s analysis argues that prior to the internet far-right ideology was censored from public discourse due to official media channels prohibiting that type of content (Starr, 2020). The rise of the internet allowed what used to be forbidden from conversation to be available to people it was previously unable to reach.
These external factors of illiberal political structures and the removal of barriers on public conservation have expanded far-right activity. The notion of outside conditions causing increases of far-right membership is the essence of the external supply side school of thought.
Demand Side
The third school of thought on causes of far-right activity is the demand side. Demand Side offers a different perspective; it claims that the causes of increased far-right activity are due to perceived status threats by individuals that push them to far-right ideology and action. Jade Hutchinson conducted research in Australia looking at the impact increases in Muslim immigration and Islamic terrorist activity has on far-right activity in the country (Hutchinson, 2017). This research finds that Muslim immigration is perceived as a status threat, leading to increased far-right activity in Australia.
A final study by Lucassen and Lubbers highlights the effect that both cultural and economic status threats have on European far-right membership. While the study concludes that cultural status threats have more of an influence than economic ones, both status threats are caused by the effects that minority groups can cause in a society (Lucassen & Lubbers, 2012). Again, in this research, it is a potential status threat that pushes individuals to far-right ideologies.
Out of all of the schools of thought on causes of far-right activity, demand side explanations offer the most interesting perspective on people’s acceptance of far-right ideologies. Both aspects of supply side theory create the opportunity for far-right activity to take root and reach a larger number of people, but demand side more closely focuses on what makes far-right ideology itself appealing to people and the causes that push people to accept and act in the name of said ideology.
Status Threat and its effect on Far-Right Activity
After analyzing the major schools of thought on what causes far-right activity, the demand side explanation is the most compelling. The rest of this paper will seek to analyze the effect that demand has on the increase of far-right activity in Western societies. The perceived threats that far-right groups perceive from outside influencers can all be described as status threats, or the perceived threat that a dominant group feels if they believe their position at the top of the social hierarchy is dwindling. Diana Mutz’s study, for example, uses the demand side theory to explain the effect that the 2016 presidential election has on the dominant group, white Christian men (Mutz, 2018). Essentially, perceived status threats to the dominant social group can cause an increase in far-right activity.
In order to test this theory, this study will be analyzing common forms of status threat and far-right activities in various Western countries. The status threat that far-right members perceive can take many forms: an increase of rights or benefits of a minority group, more representation of minority groups in powerful positions, attacks on the symbols and culture of far-right members, and an increase in immigration, just to name a few. Far-right activity can also take many shapes, such as: online discussion in far-right communities, far-right political parties and candidates seeking and winning seats in office, protests created by far-right groups, and counter-protests from the far-right against groups they oppose. With these variables more clearly defined, the hypothesis created to test the theory becomes: In areas and times when factors that cause status threat of the dominant group increase, then far-right activity will increase as well.
How to Identify Sources of Status Loss and Far-Right Activity
When conducting research for this study, the first step was to identify actions that qualify as sources of status loss. Since sources of status loss can be a multitude of actions and events, both from state and non-state actors, there are many sources that can be used to identify them. Media sources and news sites are the primary sources since they cover actions taken by both non-state actors, such as protests, as well as state actor actions, such as the passing of legislation or a Supreme Court case. In the case of status loss from a state actor, official government documents and websites were also used as a source of data collection. Starting from the independent variable of status loss prevents the risk of choosing from the dependent variable, which could potentially incorrectly skew the study in favor of the hypothesis. As for the countries being analyzed, there will be a focus on the North American countries of the United States of America and Canada. These countries are both liberal democracies, so their government systems and cultures are all fairly similar. Furthermore, in these countries, the historically dominant group has always been Christian white men, so what is perceived as a status loss to these groups (e.g., racial minority groups gaining rights) will be very similar; groups that are considered to be minority groups are relatively the same as well. This paper will be focusing primarily on modern sources of status loss and far-right activity. This removes the need for historical context that would otherwise have to be accounted for.
The main source used for the collection of far-right activity is the media. Far-right activity is largely done by non-state actors. Since the focus of this study is identifying the causes of why citizens join the far-right, not why governments commit far-right acts, the media coverage of non-state far-right activity is largely the best source for the collection of this data. Data on far-right activity is also gathered from organizations that track far-right activity, such as the Southern Poverty Law Center. This paper will be analyzing the time period following an act of status loss for far-right activity (as opposed to identifying far-right activity and working backwards to find a source of status loss) because it allows there to be variation in the dependent variable since there being no far-right activity following an event is a possibility.
The independent variable (status loss) will be measured by identifying actions that will either weaken the status of white Christian men (the dominant social group of this study) or strengthen the status of minority groups. These status changes will cover a broad spectrum of subtypes, such as but not limited to social, political, and economic. The dependent variable (far-right activity) will be measured by locating evidence of action(s) taken by person(s) connected directly or indirectly to far-right groups/ideology in response to the independent variable (status loss). If there is evidence of significant far-right activity, then that instance shows support for the hypothesis; if there is no evidence, then that instance disproves the hypothesis. If a significant majority of the cases do not support the hypothesis, then the hypothesis will be disproven.
Some concern for the study comes from the lack of accounting for the supply side theories of far-right causes. However, as previously mentioned, the countries analyzed have relatively similar governments and cultures, so their supply side causes are fairly similar as well. All the countries are liberal democracies that have seen a rise in either candidates or parties that could be described as far-right. The existence and accessibility of far-right groups are also similar between the countries, with all countries analyzed having free and open access to the internet and with enough political freedom that simply identifying as far-right is not a crime.
The method chosen for this research is qualitative. Since the sources of status loss can be a multitude of things, and can often be a series of events or an ongoing process, gathering statistical data is a challenge with only a few available resources. Similarly, far-right activity includes many different events, and data on these phenomena are limited. As such, the qualitative method suited the purposes of this study better than quantitative analysis.
The research design should allow for a fair test of the hypothesis. By only looking at countries that are politically and culturally similar, supply side factors can be easily accounted for that would otherwise be difficult. Starting with instances of status loss first, the study avoids the risk of “proving” the hypothesis without considering instances of status loss that did not cause any significant far-right activity. By relying mainly on media and the news, the study can analyze many types of status loss sources and far-right activity that may not be discussed in scholarly works, especially with more recent events. The study is able to analyze how actions by state and nonstate actors affect members and potential members of the far-right by conducting research this way.
Comparison of Sample Countries
The countries that are used for this study are the United States of America and Canada. The reason these countries have been chosen is because they both have similar governments, economic systems, cultures, and demographics. Many European countries also share these similarities, however due to the existence of the European Union, issues of globalization and loss of national sovereignty, both of which are often concerns of the far-right, tend to be higher since it is more of an immediate and direct phenomenon in Europe (Thurow, 2005). This creates a unique political structure that could increase far-right activity and ideology that can not be accounted for in the other countries used in this study.
To compare the similarities of the sample countries, information regarding their political structures, economies, and demographics were taken from the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) World Factbook. The chart below notes some of the political, economic, and demographic facts of the two countries.
| United States of America | Canada | |
| Government | Federal constitutional republic | Federal parliamentary under a constitutional monarchy |
| Legislature | Bicameral Congress | Bicameral Parliament |
| Judiciary | Supreme Court of the United States (9 judges) | Supreme Court of Canada (9 judges) |
| GDP | $19.49 trillion | $1.774 trillion |
| Population | 332.6 million | 37.7 million |
| Major languages (More than 10% of the population) | English 78.2% Spanish 13.4 % | English 58.7 % French 22% |
| Major ethnicities (More than 10% of the population) | White 72.4%Black 12.6% | Canadian 32.3%English 18.3%Scottish 13.9%French 13.6%Irish 13.4% |
| Major religions (More than 10% of the population) | Protestant 46.5%Roman Catholic 20.8% | Catholic 39%Protestant 20.3% |
| Urban population | 82.7% of population | 81.6% of population |
Source: CIA World Factbook, 2020, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/docs/one_page_summaries.html. Accessed December 1, 2020.
As the chart illustrates, the two countries have many similarities: a percentage of urban population in the 80’s, Catholic and Protestant as the dominant religions, a primarily white population, English as the dominant language, and similar governments (World Factbook, 2020). While there are many similarities, the much higher population and GDP of the United States is a notable difference, as well as America’s lack of a monarchy. Aside from these discrepancies, the political structures and demographics of the two countries being analyzed for this study are all similar enough to adequately control for external supply side theories and the characteristics of the dominant social group.
Status Loss and Far-Right Activity in the United States
The first country that is analyzed for this research was the United States. The potential sources of status loss in the United States that have been chosen are the Supreme Court Case Obergefell v. Hodges, the mass removal of Confederate statues across the country from 2017, and the Black Lives Matter protests that began in 2020.
The Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court Case held that the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution requires the licensing and recognition of same-sex marriage (Obergefell v. Hodges). Given the anti-LGBT stance that is typical of members and groups of the far-right, the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold same-sex marriage could be a source of status loss for the far-right. The case was decided on June 26th, 2015, so evidence of far-right activity should be looked for in the time following that date. When searching for far-right activity during this time, there were few results. One report done by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) notes that “shortly after” June of 2015, protests regarding the potential removal of Confederate statues began and continued throughout the year, and during the same month the murder of nine black people by a white supremacist occurred in a Charleston church (Miller and Graves, 2020). An article from the 2015 Winter edition of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s magazine, The Intelligence Report, notes the record high number of transgender women who were murdered during 2015; however the article’s data on this ends at August of that year, with many of those deaths occurring before the Obergefell v. Hodges case. While these examples are evidence of far-right activity, there does not appear to be much correlation between them and the Obergefell v. Hodges case.
The second status loss case that the study looked at was the wave of removals of Confederate statues and monuments in 2017. According to a New York Times article, many Confederate statues were removed following a violent clash in Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017, between far-right protesters and counter-protesters that resulted in a member of the far-right driving his car into a crowd resulting in one death and multiple injuries (Astor, 2017). The protest that sparked the wave of Confederate statue removal itself was sparked by a proposal of removing a statue of Robert E. Lee from the city of Charlottesville (Astor, 2017). This proposal also sparked similar protests prior to the one in August (Astor, 2017). According to the SPLC, several far-right news sites and platforms, such as The Daily Stormer and Stormfront, saw incredible growth after the “Unite the Right” protest in Charlottesville; however it is difficult to measure whether this growth after the Charlottesville protest is due to the wave of Confederate statue removal after the event, or if the event itself is responsible for this growth in far-right communities (Beirich and Buchanan, 2018). In any case, the fact that statue removal proposals are what sparked the “Unite the Right” protest and similar protests before it indicates that the perceived status loss of removing the racist symbols of Confederate statues did cause some increase in far-right activity.
The final instance of status loss analyzed in America is the recent wave of nationwide protests for the Black Lives Matter movement. According to a statement from the Black Lives Matter website, the wave of protests in response to the murder of George Floyd by police is a call to not only recognize the racism in the United States policing system, but to defund police departments across the country and use that money to invest in black communities (#DefundthePolice, 2020). This call to end a systemic injustice and invest in the communities of a historically oppressed minority has the potential to be seen as a source of status loss by the far right and its would-be members. While the current Black Lives Matter protests are fairly recent, there are already numerous instances of a far-right response. An article from Pew by Erika Bolstad notes that “armed vigilantes” have been appearing at Black Lives Matter protests nationwide, sometimes with violent clashes between the two as was the case in Kenosha when Kyle Rittenhouse, an armed individual who identified as a militia member, killed two people during a protest following a police shooting of Jacob Blake (Bolstad, 2020). An article written by Judy L. Thomas, also in the Kansas City Star, notes that evidence from the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights shows that far-right members have been found at 40 Black Lives Matter protests following George Floyd’s death, sometimes with the intent to incite violence (Thomas, 2020). While these two articles merely scratch the surface of far-right activity in regard to the Black Lives Matter movement, it is clear that these protests have created a backlash of far-right activities in response.
The research into American status loss and far-right activity had mixed results in regard to the hypothesis. The potential status loss from the Obergefell v. Hodges case did not have any evidence that it caused an increase in far-right activity, while the Black Lives Matter protests showed strong support for the hypothesis with far-right groups directly clashing with individuals at these protests. The case of Confederate statue removal showed some support, but the far-right protest in Charlottesville itself could be a more accurate cause for the majority of the increase in far-right membership than the statue removals.
| Obergefell v. Hodges(2015) | Removal of Confederate Statues (2017) | Black Lives Matter Protests (2020) |
| No support for hypothesis | Some support for hypothesis | Strong support for hypothesis |
Status Loss and Far-Right Activity in Canada
The second country chosen for this research was Canada. The first instance of status loss analyzed was the Ipperwash crisis of 1995. The second source of status loss was the admission of 25,000 Syrian refugees that occurred between December 2015 and February 2016. The final source of status loss researched for Canada was the passing of Bill C-16 in 2017.
Similar to the Black Lives Matter protests that were already discussed, the Ipperwash crisis was an act by non-state actors that demanded the government to act on behalf of a historically marginalized group, in this case, indigenous people. In 1942, the Canadian government appropriated the Stoney Point Reserve to make a military camp, after repeated calls to return the land. The Kettle and Stoney Point First Nation occupied the camp and the Ipperwash Provincial Park in an effort to have the government return the land (Marshall, 2013). The occupation by indigenous people resulted in a violent altercation from the Canadian government, and the eventual returning of the land to the indigenous people in 2015; however this study will only look at the effect that the original occupation had on far-right activity, not the return of the land by the government (Marshall, 2013). A demand for the government to improve the lives of indigenous people could be perceived as a source of status loss since it increases the status of a minority group; the potential removal of federal land to indigenous people could also spark resentment from the far-right since nationalism is a core belief of many far-right groups. The Ipperwash Crisis resulted in no data being found of any far-right activity following this event. As this was the source of status loss that occurred the earliest, in 1995, the result could be a matter of far-right activity not being well monitored.
The second instance of status loss was the act by former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to work with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to admit 25,000 Syrian refugees into Canada, a process that occurred between December 2015 until February 2016 (“Canada,” 2018). The increased entry from not only ethnic, but a largely religious minority has the potential to be a source of perceived status loss by far-right groups who tend to oppose immigration, specifically from minority groups that are significantly different from the dominant group. Trudeau’s pledge to admit 25,000 refugees is an increase from the previous Conservative government who only allowed 10,000 refugees and prioritized Syria’s non-muslim and ethnic minorities (Patriquin, 2019). An article from The Guardian, written by Martin Patriquin, notes that after Trudeau’s pledge, online conspiracies were claiming Trudeau sought to turn Canada into an Islamic State or that Trudeau was secretly a Muslim (Patriquin, 2019).
Another article from Vice News by Mack Lamoureux claims that the admission of the 25,000 Syrian refugees was “the spark that ignited the movement” when describing chapters of a European anti-immigration group, The Sons of Odin, forming in Canada. Lamoureux supports his claim by including a portion of the group’s charter, “Between the allowing of illegal aliens into this country and giving them the ability to vote and drive, accepting refugees from countries that hate us while Canadians are on the streets, releasing confirmed terrorists back to their organizations to cause more harm against Canada, and demonizing anything that has to do with European Culture to try and create racial tensions to turn citizens on one another; we as Soldiers Of Odin realize that it is time to take back our streets, provinces, and country.” (Lamoureux, 2016). In the case of the admission of 25,000 Syrian refugees by the Canadian government, there is a fairly strong correlation between it and far-right activity in Canada.
The final source of status loss researched for Canada was the passage of Bill C-16, which, according to CBC news, added “gender identity or expression” to the Canadian Human Rights Act that protects minority groups from discrimination, as well as including it into protections against hate crimes (Dragicevic). Brenda Cossman, a professor of law at the University of Toronto, notes that the passing of this bill has been coopted by the far-right as an infringement on free speech (Cossman, 2018). Statistics from police-reported hate crimes show that since 2017, the year that the bill was passed, reported hate crimes on the issue of sexual identity have been on a slight increase, with the exception of 2018, from previous years.
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
| Sexual orientation hate crimes | 141 | 176 | 204 | 186 | 263 |
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 35-10-0066-01 Police-reported hate crime, by type of motivation, Canada (selected police services)
These statistics suggest that the inclusion of transgender people as a minority group–therefore receiving the protections of a minority group–has resulted in an increase in hate crimes toward transgender people. Finally, an article by Abigail Curlew notes that the passage of Bill C-16 has caused a surge of hateful rhetoric from far-right politicians and citizens (Curlew, 2019).
Overall, the sources of status loss analyzed in Canada show a decent amount of support for the hypothesis. While there was no evidence of the Ipperwash crisis causing an increase in far-right activity, both the passage of Bill C-16, and the Canadian government’s decision to admit 25,000 Syrian refugees showed at least some evidence of causing an increase in far-right activity.
| Ipperwash Crisis | Admission of Syrian Refugees | Passage of Bill C-16 |
| No support for hypothesis | Strong support for hypothesis | Some support for hypothesis |
Conclusion
From the research, there does appear to be a decent amount of support for the hypothesis. Out of the six cases of status loss analyzed from the United States and Canada, four of them showed at least a moderate effect on far-right activity. While this research is far from conclusive, there is still evidence that as countries progress toward more equality for minority groups, or as these groups demand for measures to be taken for their social advancement, it can be predicted, with some certainty, there will be a far-right response. This means that as countries become more equal in regards to the rights and status of minorities, they run the risk of agitating the dominant group and increasing far-right activity, which as this research finds, often leads to an increase of violence from the far-right as well. Countries that hope to increase their levels of inequality thus need to be prepared to deal with the far-right’s response to such actions.
Some limitations of this research include the external supply side factors that were not accounted for. While the selection of these two countries was decided to limit such factors, there are still factors that were not accounted for, such as the head of government in each country during the time periods analyzed. For example, the Black Lives Matter protests and Confederate statue removal in the United States occurred during President Trump’s term, who is more conservative and supported by those on the right, including the far-right, while the Obergefell v. Hodges case occurred during President Obama’s term who is more to the left of Trump. These factors could play a significant role in describing far-right activity and, if they were accounted for, could change the results. Similarly, internal supply side factors were not considered; the nature of existing far-right groups could also play a significant role in changing these results. If, say, the United States already had a high number of far-right groups who were actively recruiting members before the instances of status loss, while Canada had little far-right activity prior to the sources of status loss, or vice-versa, then that could skew the results. Finally, the sources of status loss that were analyzed and their following acts of the far-right, or lack thereof, do not exist in a vacuum, and the possibility of some other phenomena being the more accurate cause of the far-right activity exists. While this research shows support for the hypothesis, increases in status loss should lead to an increase in far-right activity, this research is not exhaustive, and many other factors that were not accounted for exist and have the potential to alter the results greatly if they were considered.
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