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For years, anyone leaning towards the right wing has been castigated and regarded as an enemy of societal peace, depending on individual and public perceptions. The past ten years or so have seen increased presence and acceptability of right ideologies within Western countries. This can greatly be attributed to media coverage and how journalists have portrayed right-wing politicians and their ideals. Consequently, we have seen far-right politicians becoming even more powerful than ever, leading their respective countries. However, their background and underground activities raise suspicion as they link to Nazism and violence. Today, a distinction tends to be made between the right. Right-wing activists and politicians are often considered the ‘nice’ guys, and far-right extremists are seen as a public menace.
Researchers sharing knowledge based on their experiences
The more media visibility the right attains, the more curious society gets about them. So have I. It was interesting to learn that academia has also developed an interest in the right wing. It was even much more interesting to find out that researchers are studying far-right activists. I had the pleasure of attending a webinar titled – The Gendered Challenges of Doing Close-Up Research on the Far Right on October 19. The webinar was organized by the Centre for Research on Extremism at the University of Oslo (C-REX) together with The Polarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab (PERIL) at American University’s School of Public Affairs.
The webinar was part of the C-REX/PERIL Webinar series on Researching the Far Right: Methods and Ethics held since June 2021.
The webinars are intended to provide a platform where researchers share their experiences while studying far-right activism, parties, protest movements and violent actions. The researchers share knowledge attained from issues and challenges surrounding practice and methods used to study the far right, the ethical and political issues involved, and their personal and professional experiences.
‘The Gendered Challenges of Doing Close-Up Research on the Far Right’
‘Are you with us, or are you against us?’: Interviewing extremists
According to Christopher Fardan, the far-right activists are comfortable speaking with people who agree with them. During his early days of research on far-right activism, a respondent (a member of the Nordic Resistance Movement) asked him- “Are you with us, or are you against us?” before he could proceed with an interview.
During the webinar, Fardan explained that the character and attributes of the researcher play an important role in researching the far right. In his experience, he was easily granted an audience by the far-right activists because he was considered a “potential insider” given that he is a young white male. He met the activists at their homes, cafes, pubs, and hotels and had to participate in some of their activities.
‘One of the boys‘: On researching the far right as a woman
According to Audrey Gagnon, female researchers have access to more information and can contribute significantly to generating new knowledge from their research interactions with the far right. This is due to the fact that female researchers are considered less threatening by the far-right interviewees, who in most cases are male respondents who portray themselves as important, powerful and more knowledgeable than the researchers. Thus, the latter explains all information in detail.
Gagnon explained that the research process leaves female researchers emotionally and mentally drained as they have to endure sexist misogynist talk during their close-up interviews with far-right respondents. They also have to find a balance between conducting interviews in unsafe/uncomfortable settings and the risk of losing access to their respondents. She added that female researchers have been harassed not only by their colleagues, as they are deemed “guilty by association,” but also by far-right individuals. Unfortunately, no support has been rendered to these researchers from their respective institutions in times of threat. In fact, the institutions prioritise safeguarding the respondents rather than the female researchers.
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