Aleksandr Dugin and the West European New Right, 1989-1994

I've recently written a new article which inquires into the relations and contacts between Russian fascist intellectual Aleksandr Dugin and West European far right groups, first and foremost, the European New Right.

Alain de Benoist, Aleksandr Dugin, Robert Steuckers. Moscow, 1992

From the beginning to the mid-1990s, there was a mutual interest between Dugin and particular West European far right activists. The latter were originally interested in Dugin because he was apparently the first representative of the Russian New Right, who spoke the same language with them – both literally and intellectually – and could not only enlighten them on Russian phenomena from a native’s point of view, but also disseminate their own ideas in Russia. Furthermore, in 1992-1993, the West European far right – especially the “philo-Soviet” groups – supported the Russian “red-brown” alliance, as they were increasingly interested in political developments in Russia that could – rather feasibly – lead to a much-hoped right-wing revolution. Dugin, in his turn, originally established contacts with the West European far right in order to satisfy his interest in the contemporary interpretations of René Guénon and Julius Evola, but then he used his West European contacts to consolidate and strengthen his position in Russian ultranationalist and mainstream circles.

The article will, hopefully, be published in 2014.

Conference: The mainstreaming of the extreme right

The mainstreaming of the extreme right
University of Bath

Date: Friday 20 September 2013
Time: 10.00-17.30
Room: 6 E. 2.1
Audience: This event is open to all, with registration in advance.

Theme: Governance and policy design

Purpose of event: In these times of social and economic crises, and although the extreme left has witnessed a revival of sorts, there is no doubt that the extreme right has become the fastest growing political family in Europe.

However, although the ideas of extreme right parties are growing in popularity, their historical legacies often remain an obstacle preventing them from appealing to wider audiences. In this context two crucial developments have occurred, with significant implications for the future of our liberal democracies.

Conference: Diversity and Tolerance in Europe

On September 10, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Ukraine is holding the International Conference "Diversity and Tolerance in Europe: Challenges and Opportunities for Cooperation".

International experts will present a review of the threats and challenges for tolerance as well as counter strategies; they talk on political education as a tool for prevention of group-focused aggression. During the conference, participants will discuss efforts of the European civil society networks against discrimination and the opportunities of Ukrainian civil society for cooperation with various international organizations aimed at prevention of right-wing extremism.

You can make a request for further information about the event here.

Svoboda's MP and reenectors dressed as SS soldiers join the re-interment ceremony

On the 28th of July, remains of 16 members of the 14th SS-Volunteer Division "Galician" were re-intered in a small village in the Lviv region, Ukraine. The ceremony was joined by several members of a Ukrainian historical reenactment group, dressed as SS soldiers.

Far-right Populism and Lone Wolf Terrorism in Contemporary Europe

Democracy and Security, has just published an important special issue, titled "Far-right Populism and Lone Wolf Terrorism in Contemporary Europe", which is based on the papers presented at the conference "Populist Racism in Britain and Europe since 1945" which I co-organised at the University of Northampton.

Table of contents

Introduction
Matthew Feldman & Paul Jackson

A Distant Mirror: Nineteenth-Century Populism, Nativism, and Contemporary Right-Wing Radical Politics
Hans-Georg Betz

Far-Right “Contagion” or a Failing “Mainstream”? How Dangerous Ideas Cross Borders and Blur Boundaries
Aristotle Kallis

The License to Hate: Peder Jensen's Fascist Rhetoric in Anders Breivik's Manifesto 2083: A European Declaration of Independence
Paul Jackson

Comparative Lone Wolf Terrorism: Toward a Heuristic Definition
Matthew Feldman

Au Revoir to “Sacred Cows”? Assessing the Impact of the Nouvelle Droite in Britain
Nigel Copsey

The Think Project: An Approach to Addressing Racism and Far-Right Extremism in Swansea, South Wales
Rocio Cifuentes, Geraint Rhys Whittaker & Laura Lake

On Aleksandr Dugin's father

I remember that, in 2009, I was the first to challenge a wide-spread assumption, or actually a myth, that Russian fascist Aleksandr Dugin's father had something to do with the military intelligence. This myth was most likely propagated by Dugin himself, in order to romanticise his own biography.

An hour of simple research, however, revealed that Dugin's father was a customs officer.

More on ultranationalist activist Mike Shelby (aka Michael Chtcherbitski)

Recently, I've posted a message on ultranationalist activist Mike Shelby (who is actually Michael Chtcherbitski, a Canadian national of Ukrainian extraction). He sent several messages of similar nature to researchers of the Ukrainian far right and posted the same message online on various websites.

A few days after I posted my message, Mike Shelby wrote me an e-mail saying that someone was using his name and e-mail address and "sent some political message" to me and my colleagues.

Below you will find a full record of my correspondence with Mike Shelby. The reason why I'm putting this correspondence up is given in the last few messages.