Short Abstract

Taking a globally comparative approach, this panel seeks to think authoritarianism, fascism, anti-fascism and de-fascisation through an affect-theoretical perspective. We invite empirical papers which explore the affects mobilised in people’s struggles against the fascisation of their societies.

Long Abstract

This workshop is dedicated to the question how people struggle against the fascisation of their societies. Seeking a comparative debate across the different contexts, it invites empirical papers that analyse how fascist parties and authoritarian governments generate and deploy affects in their politics, and the ways in which resistance challenges them – affectively and effectively.

Millions of people have taken to the streets over the past years in struggles to resist authoritarian government. The uprisings in Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the anti-CAA movement and now the ‘Cockroach’ party in India, the student protests in Serbia, Indonesia and Thailand, and resistance to ICE in Minnesota are just some examples. Often emerging around single or local issues, they bridge grievances and form heterogeneous alliances. What multiple and maybe contradictory affects are at play in these movements? How do they mobilize feelings of anger and mutual solidarity against the fear of violent politics? How do the protests rely also on joy, fun and excitement to overcome the alienation and political apathy produced by current authoritarian state politics? And can they challenge the “sense of empowerment” and “joy” of subjugating others that fascist movements mobilise (Eckert 2026)? What affects inhere in their ideas of democracy, justice or freedom? And which affects do resisters rely upon to sustain their alliances, ground their solidarity, and navigate contradictions and dissensus amongst them?

In short, this workshop asks what it means to think fascism, anti-fascism and de-fascisation through their affective dimensions.