New Books in Sociology

Agnieszka Pasieka, "Living Right: Far-Right Youth Activists in Contemporary Europe" (Princeton UP, 2024)

Apr 20, 2025

Agnieszka Pasieka, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Montreal, discusses her book on far-right youth activism in Europe. She delves into the radical nationalism gripping the continent, showcasing the diverse backgrounds of these young activists. Unpacking the intricate dynamics of their movements, Pasieka highlights the blend of local identities and transnational influences. She also explores gender roles within these groups, emphasizing the complexities of individuality and morality in a divisive political landscape.

46:29

Episode guests

Agnieszka Pasieka

AI Summary

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Far-right youth activism in Europe is driven by a blend of local engagement and transnational connections, reshaping nationalist movements.

The emotional challenges of researching far-right ideologies reveal deeper human connections, complicating the perception of activists and their motivations.

Deep dives

Exploring the Roots of Far-Right Activism

The discussion highlights the author's deep interest in how far-right activists mobilize and perceive societal inequalities, drawing from her past research on religious and ethnic minorities. The author connects her new project to historical instances of nationalist collaboration in the early 20th century, posing important questions about the continuities between past and present forms of activism. By examining both historical accounts and contemporary practices, she reveals the complexity of transnational nationalist connections that persist across borders today. This ethnographic approach demonstrates the need to recognize how historical narratives shape current activist agendas within the far-right movements.

Intro

2min

Unpacking Far-Right Activism

10min

Exploring Transnational Dimensions of Far-Right Activism in Europe

5min

Navigating Far-Right Alliances in Europe

13min

Gender Dynamics in Far-Right Activism

8min

Navigating Relationships in Divisive Times

5min

Radical nationalism is on the rise in Europe and throughout the world. Living Right: Far-Right Youth Activists in Contemporary Europe (Princeton University Press, 2024) provides an in-depth account of the ideas and practices that are driving the varied forms of far-right activism by young people from all walks of life, revealing how these social movements offer the promise of comradery, purpose, and a moral calling to self-sacrifice, and demonstrating how far-right ideas are understood and lived in ways that speak to a variety of experiences.

In this eye-opening book, Agnieszka Pasieka draws on her own sometimes harrowing fieldwork among Italian, Polish, and Hungarian militant youths, painting unforgettable portraits of students, laborers, entrepreneurs, musicians, and activists from well-off middle class backgrounds who have all found a nurturing home in the far right. Providing an in-depth account of radical nationalist communities and networks that are taking root across Europe, she shows how the simultaneous orientation of these groups toward the local and the transnational is a key to their success. With a focus on far-right morality that challenges commonly held ideas about the right, Pasieka describes how far-right movements afford opportunities to the young to be active members of tightly bonded comradeships while sharing in a broader project with global ramifications.

Required reading for anthropologists and anyone concerned about the resurgence of far-right militancy today, Living Right sheds necessary light on the forces that have made the growing appeal of fascist idealism for young people one of the most alarming trends of our time.

Agnieszka Pasieka is assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Montreal.

* This episode is part of a special collaboration between the New Books Network and the Society for the Anthropology of Europe, a section of the American Anthropological Association. Together, we’re highlighting exciting new work in Europeanist anthropology—featuring authors from across the field, including winners of the William A. Douglass Book Prize and contributors to the European Anthropology in Translation series published by Berghahn Books.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sociology