EP26: The French Connection (ft. Jean-Yves Camus, Matt McManus, & Joe Mullhall)

The national security state is alive, well, and growing. By weaponizing the threat of right-wing extremism, governments are building out their post-9/11 securitization projects. The far-right, however, is dangerous and does need to be stopped. But not with old strategies and tactics that have failed in the past and will fail again. Doing better means thinking differently. And that’s what we plan to do this week as we begin our first of two back-to-back episodes assessing the state of the far right and how to counter them effectively. In this episode, we focus on the philosophies and influence of the French New Right, and debate the ethics of undercover infiltrations.

• First, (@15:05) Joe Mulhall is Head of Research at Hope Not Hate and author of an upcoming book on the global far right. He talks about the French New Right, its strategies, and the thinkers — and “thinkers” — that underwrite them including the prolific Alain de Benoist. We also debate the strategies of undercover infiltrations, which Joe employs and discusses in his upcoming book.
• Next (@44:12), Jean-Yves Camus is co-director of the Observatoire des Radicalités Politiques (ORAP) and Associate Fellow at Institut de Relations Internationales et Stratégiques (IRIS) in Paris. He knows Alain de Benoist. He digs into the far-right theorist’s past and present, discussing his motivations, capacities, and effect on right wing thinking. 
• Finally, (@59:20) Matt McManus is Professor of Politics at Whitman College and podcaster at PillPod. He’s an expert on post-modern conservatism, and he breaks down for us what it entails and how it shapes contemporary thinking, discourse, and politics. 

——————-FURTHER READING AND LISTENING——————-

• Follow Hope Not Hate on Twitter and check out Joe Mulhall’s upcoming book Drums in the Distance: Journeys Into the Global Far Right. Also, read his piece on the identatrian movement and the alt-right.
• Have a look at Jean-Yves Camus’ most recent book, co-written with Nicolas Lebourg, Far-Right Politics in Europe. For a shorter read, have a look at his piece on the French New Right a half-century on, which he says is “Alive and kicking a ever.”
• Listen to Matt McManus’s podcasts at PillPod and grab a copy of his book What is Post-Modern Conservatism. Also, review his piece in Jacobin on Benjamin Teitelbaum’s War for Eternity. For more, check out his piece on post-modern conservatism in the McGill International Review.
• Also be sure to read Buzzfeed’s piece on Alain de Benoist and the French New Right.
• Read up the national security state, including new money for domestic terrorism, a U.S. military training document that “says socialsits represent ‘terrorist’ ideology,” and Ken Klippenstein’s 2019 piece on leaked FBI documents that identify the bureau’s priorities during the Trump administration.
• Read our own Tim Berk’s Darts and Letters blog post “Don’t be fooled by the European new right’s quasi-left rebrand.”

—————————-CONTACT US————————-

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—————————-CREDITS—————————-

Darts and Letters is hosted and edited by Gordon Katic. Our lead producer is Jay Cockburn. Our managing producer is Marc Apollonio. Our lead research assistant on this episode was Tim Berk from the University of Toronto. David Moscrop provided research assistance and wrote the show notes. Our marketing assistant is Ian Snowden. Our theme song was created by Mike Barber. Our graphic design was created by Dakota Koop.

This episode received support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research. This episode was part of a project looking at the right of right wing political philosophies. The advisors on that project are: Andre Gagne, Ronald Beiner, and A. James McAdams. The lead research assistants are Tim Berk & Isabelle Lemelin. 

Darts and Letters is produced in Toronto, which is on the traditional land of Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat Peoples. It is also produced in Vancouver, BC, which is on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.