COVID-19 and the 'Other' Pandemic: White Nationalism in a Time of Crisis

Abstract

This thesis considers the resurgence of white nationalist campaigns within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Situated in Feminist, Media and Cultural Studies, it analyses how ethnonationalist movements exploited 'crisis' rhetoric to advance extremist polemics. By characterising the coronavirus crisis environment as one marked by intense insecurity and vulnerability, I explain how these conditions acted as a catalyst that exacerbated recruitment and radicalisation efforts. I provide qualitative evidence, comparing case studies from the Australian and British political and media spheres from 2020 to 2022. This thesis reveals how the extreme far-right, a disparate but fluid transnational movement, remains a significant global concern. During the COVID-19 pandemic, sources of mis and disinformation were weaponised to amplify racial, religious and gender differences of an 'out-group', described in this thesis as the 'Other'. I address how postcolonial stereotypes and established conspiracies aided online extremism and encouraged offline behaviours, often through civil disobedience and violence. This research also deconstructs how an effective method of sedition adopted by ethnonationalists appropriated an online visual culture to recruit a younger and impressionable audience. Additionally, I explain how analogous extremist groups coopted self-improvement principles to conflate personal strength with the resilience of the nation-state. Further, I emphasise how some historically marginalised groups aided extremist recruitment by platforming racist and misogynistic rhetoric in their diverse, multicultural communities. This lens explains how some women leveraged their femininity to 'soften' the appeal of ethnonationalist sentiments. The thesis offers critical insights into the multifaceted nature of far-right extremism, contributing to emerging scholarship detailing the various psychosocial and sociocultural consequences of COVID-19 that survive the pandemic.