Presentation short abstract

The variety of far-right environmentalisms at the national, regional and local level is often explained by recourse to culture. But what is culture? In my presentation I propose a realist understanding of culture that could help to explain the mainstreaming of the far-right and its environmentalisms

Presentation long abstract

Far-right environmentalisms are articulated and enacted within specific national, regional or local contexts (cf. Benoist 2024: 117). This results in a variety of far-right positions on the environment and socio-ecological transformation in Europe with actors appealing to and adapting to national myths or hegemonic ideas about the environment. For instance, while the Alternative for Germany (AfD) rejects renewable energies (cf. Weisskircher, Volk 2025: 22) and advocates for nuclear power, opposing positions are taken across the border. The Freedom Party Austria is considered as a „renewable energies enthusiast“ (ibid.: 19) and strongly rejects any form of nuclear power, connecting to a national Austrian identity shared by all political positions (cf. Gruber 2025: 195). Recent research also suggests that national myths regarding the environment can be a causal factor in mainstreaming the far-right (cf. Malm et al 2025: 5ff.) or that culture could also be crucial for resisting authoritarian projects (cf. Gonda, Bori 2025: 11).

Given this, the issue arises for me: What is culture? In my contribution I’ll elaborate on an answer to this question based on Archer’s (2004) work regarding the Cultural System and the Socio-Cultural Interaction. This realist perspective provides an approach to empirical research on far-right environmentalisms or environmental justice struggles, by offering a way to analyze how local, national and regional myths, subjective beliefs, imaginations and mentalities regarding the environment have historically formed, could co-cause the mainstreaming of far-right environmentalisms, and could also be sites of intervention and resistance against (far-right) authoritarian projects.