Defining Ecofascism: Historical Foundations and Contemporary Interpretations in the Extreme Right

Abstract

The terrorist attacks in Christchurch in March 2019 and El Paso five months later emphasised the renewed relevance of ecofascism to the extreme right. This study advances an integrated definition of ecofascism with respect to the historical and contemporary extreme right. It found ecofascism to be a reactionary and revolutionary ideology that champions the regeneration of an imagined community through a return to a romanticised, ethnopluralist vision of the natural order. Ecofascists believe that their chosen community has weakened because the connection to nature has been disrupted by the forces of modernity, spanning industrialisation, urbanisation, multiculturalism, materialism, and individualism. Ecofascists therefore seek the complete rebirth of their imagined community through a return to nature, which they believe will restore the people to a state of authenticity and dominance. Because the community is based on racial constructs, the ecofascist vision of ecological harmony manifests as racial segregation based on place. This provides a platform for ecofascists to justify expelling or destroying people they deem unnatural or disruptive to the ecosystem. In settler societies, ecofascism provides the premise by which immigrants can reject and expel other immigrants, while simultaneously claiming an authentic connection with nature.