The term “fascism” has been thrown around left circles for decades as a proxy for authoritarianism, racism, or both. This inability to properly define and understand how fascist movements erupt and grow has created a deficit in organizing, and as we head into a Trump presidential administration and the massive growth of the Alt Right and white nationalism organizers across the left need the tools to break down these movements and how they work. There have been a lot of “reading lists” put out recently, so we thought we would compile one of our own that combines a whole number of threads that are important for understanding how fascism works. This includes detailed looks at the Alt Right, the more mainstream “Alt Lite,” the role of Neofolk and goth music, white nationalist organizing, the history of white nationalist violence, how the revival of scientific racism works, how anti-Semitism plays out, and all the other tentacles that make the intersectional beast of the new fascist movement.

This list of readings is far from complete, and this page is going to continue to be updated as we add new sections and flesh out the ones that are here. If you think there are some great ones that are missing, let us know, and also know that it is the writings, videos, and audio recordings below that make up a lot of the thinking that goes into this website. We have also angled the list below more in favor of newer articles as well as ones that are generally accessible(though there are a few academic ones dotted in there).

 

Alt Right

• The Alt Right and the New American Fascism (CounterPunch)
• Ctrl-Alt-Delete: The origins and ideology of the Alternative Right (Political Research Associates)
• Alternative Fascism: The Alt Right and Fascist Branding (Anti-Fascist News)
• Calling Them ‘Alt Right’ Helps Us Fight Them (Three-Way Fight)
• The Alt Right and the Quest for White Identity (The Guardian)
• My Journey Inside of the Alt Right (The Huffington Post Magazine)
• The Dapper White Nationalist Who Wins Even if Trump Loses (Richard Spencer) (Mother Jones)
• Geeks for Monarchy: A Profile on Neoreaction (Tech Crunch)
• The Rich Kids of Fascism (It’s Going Down)

 

Alt Lite

• Introducing the Alt Lite, the People Mainstreaming the Alt Right’s White Nationalism (Anti-Fascist News)
• Breitbart Goes Full Fash (Anti-Fascist News)

 

Neofolk

• Fighting the Trojan Horse of Hipster Fascism (Earth First! Journal)
• Neofascist: Heathen Harvest, Neofolk, and Fascist Subcultural Entryism (Anti-Fascist News)
• The Neofolk Band “Changes” and Their Open Fascism (Anti-Fascist News)
• Death in June – A Nazi Band? (LibCom)
• Counter Culture Fascism (SpitFire)
• Neofolk or Neovolk (One People’s Project)
• Apoliteic Music: Neofolk, Martial Industrial, and “metapolitical fascism” (Patterns of Prejudice)

 

White Nationalist Organizing

• The New Neo-Nazis: How Matthew Heimbach is Building a Racist Network Across the U.S. (It’s Going Down)
• Guide to Understand Identity Europa (It’s Going Down)
• 20^th Century White Supremacist Groups (C-Span)
• The Undying Appeal of White Nationalism (Candles and Torches)

 

Anti-Semitism

• The Problem of Left Anti-Semitism and Fascist Entryism (Rose City Antifa)
• Anti-Semitism in the White House: Stephen Bannon, Donald Trump and the Alt Right (Truthout)
• Understanding Anti-Semitism (The New Republic)
• Guide to Understanding Holocaust Denial (Remember)

 

Scientific Racism

• Race and IQ: A Tale of Shoddy Science (The Guardian)
• Overview on the “Race Realist” Movement (Salon)
• People Keep Misunderstanding Race and IQ (The Atlantic)
• “Race Realism” Is Pseudoscience (Psychology Today)

 

Defining Fascism

• What is Fascism? (Robert O. Paxon)
• Ur-Fascism, or Eternal Fascism (Umberto Eco)
• What is Fascism? (Matt Lyons)
• Quotes on Fascism (Three Way Fight)
• Populism as a Core Element of Fascism (Chip Berlet)
• What Fascism Is, and What it’s Not (Roger Griffin)
• Fascism and Anti-Fascism (Don Hammerquist)
• The Paradox of Reactionary Modernism (Jeffrey Herf)

 

Queerness and Fascism

• Gay Nazi, Gay Aryan, Gay Supremacist (Pop Matters)
• Queer Fascism: Why White Nationalists Are Dropping Homophobia (Anti-Fascist News)

 

Esoteric Fascism

• Confronting the New Right (Gods & Radicals)
• Rainbow Heathenry: Is a Left-wing, multiracial Heathenry Possible? (Gods & Radicals)
• Who are the Wolves of Vinland? (Rose City Antifa)
• Satanism and the Far Right (Detoxorcist)
• Fascism Against Time: Nationalism, Media Blindness, and the Cult of Augustus Sol Invictus (Gods & Radicals)

 

National Anarchism

• Rebranding Fascism: National-Anarchist (Political Research Associates)
• Co-Opting the Counter Culture: Troy Southgate and the National Revolutionary Faction (Patterns of Prejudice)

 

Third Position

• What is Third Position (Political Research Associates)
• How to Draw Lines Against Political Entryism on the Left (Political Research Associates)

 

White Nationalist Violence

• From Rhodesia to Charleston: Looking at Who is Responsible for Lone Wolf Terrorism (Anti-Fascist News)
• Institutionalizing Lone-Wolf Terrorism: How Fascist Organizations Inspire Mass Violence (The Hampton Institute)
• Terror From the Right: A History of Far Right Acts of Terrorism (Southern Poverty Law Center)
• KKK: A History of Racism (Southern Poverty Law Center)

 

Conspiracy Theory

• How to Overthrow the Illuminati (Self-titled)

 

Militia Movement

• Will The History Books Record How Nazis Made Eyes at the Malheur Occupation? (Truthout)
• Up in Arms: A Guide to Oregon’s Patriot Movement (Rural Organizing Project/ Public Research Associates)
• Basic Militia Movement History (Anti-Defamation League)
• Understanding the Racism of the Militia Movement (Three Way Fight)
• A Detailed History of the American Patriot Movement (Southern Poverty Law Center)

 

Donald Trump and White Nationalism

• Meet the Shocktroops of Trump’s America (Raw Story)
• A Complete History of Donald Trump’s Relationship With White Nationalism (Media Matters)
• Trump the Fascist (Anti-Fascist News)
• Trumping Democracy: Right-Wing Populism, Fascism, and the Case for Action (Political Research Associates)
• Trumpism (LibCom)

 

Anti-Fascist Organizing

• “Death to the Klan” and Armed Antifascist Community Defense in the U.S. (It’s Going Down)
• Unionism as Anti-Fascist Strategy (Twin Cities IWW General Defense Committee)
• Fascist Free Speech is a Straw Man Argument (Dissent Magazine)
• An Anti-Fascist Response to a Trumpist Future (NYC Antifa)
• Lessons on Defeating White Nationalism from the Coalition That Keeps Defeating David Duke (Waging Nonviolence)
• A Movement of Long Knives: Death in June, Alternative Nationalism, and Building a New Antifa (Anti-Fascist News)
• The Changing Face of Anti-Fascism (Truthout)
• Anarchism vs. Fascism (Anti-Fascist News)
• What We Need for Antifascist Organizing in Trump’s America (NYC Antifa)
• Tips for Challenging the Far Right (Political Research Associates)
• The History and Future of Black Anti-Fascism (Truthout)
• Everday Anti-Fascism (Roar Mag)