Understanding the Rise of the Far Right
In six short lectures, Gargi explores how fascism springs from capitalism and colonial violence. A call for antifascists everywhere to organise.
Capitalism and Fascism
This course looks at fascism as a mode of capitalism, and asks what it looks like in our own moment: the rise of far-right parties and street movements across borders, the cruelty of harsh border regimes and austerity, and the online worlds where young people are drawn in through memes, masculinity and culture wars. Drawing on thinkers from Clara Zetkin to Aimé Césaire, it asks what fascism feels like today — and how we might build an antifascism of the everyday, rooted not just in reacting to the far right but in the daily work of building freer lives together.
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Gargi Bhattacharyya is Director of the Sarah Parker Remond Centre at University College London and the author of many books.
Exploring fascism and antifascism, this is a useful analysis for anyone concerned by the rise of the far right
What you'll learn:
Lecture 1: What do we mean by fascism?
Definitions are slippery and even fascists themselves reject the label. This opening lecture explores the recurring features of fascist movements and asks how we recognise them in our own time.
Lecture 2: Fascism as the outcome of capitalist crisis
Drawing on Trotsky, Clara Zetkin and Georgi Dimitrov, this lecture examines how fascism rises from economic crisis and the defeat of working-class movements, serving the interests of capital.
Lecture 3: Fascism and Imperialism
From W.E.B. Du Bois to Aimé Césaire and George Padmore, this lecture follows thinkers who understood European fascism as colonial violence coming home — and argued that fighting fascism means fighting empire.
Lecture 4: What does fascism feel like?
How does fascism shape everyday life? This lecture looks at state violence, the shifting figures of the 'enemy', the pull of anti-democratic feeling, and the relationship between street movements and the state.
Lecture 5: Fascism and online worlds
The far right were early adopters of online life. This lecture explores how memes, masculinity, fitness content and coded language draw people in, and how fascist ideas spread through culture rather than parties.
Lecture 6: Modes of antifascist politics
Beyond reacting to far-right mobilisations, what might an antifascism of the everyday look like? This lecture asks how we build collective freedom and defend our communities in frightening times.