Global Heating and the Australian Far Right

Imogen Richards is a criminology lecturer at Deakin University, Australia, where she also researches comparative forms of political violence. Her first book explored the propaganda and financial practices of neo-jihadist organisations, and her second book (with Routledge) examined the public scholarly practices of criminologists.Gearóid Brinn is a PhD candidate and teaches political theory at the University of Melbourne, Australia. His research focuses on political radicalism, especially anarchism, environmentalism, and realist political philosophy. His work has appeared in the European Journal of Political Theory and Environmental Politics.Callum Jones is a researcher and PhD candidate at Monash University, Australia, whose research focuses on political extremism, particularly the networks and discursive strategies of radicalised groups and the violence they produce. His wider research focus extends to other ideological groups, including religious extremists and members of the Manosphere.

‘Contrarianism, the conscious denial of evidence in support of sectional interests, sets the scene for extremist authoritarian solutions to climate change. This important book demonstrates how associated far-right survivalism - based on exclusion, white supremacy and a fortress mentality - reverberates through the cybersphere and resonates at ground level among those desperate for answers to global heating. Challenging eco-fascism means knowing where it comes from, how it has evolved, and how best to combat it. This book is a must read for those pursuing social and ecological justice.’ Rob White, Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Criminology, University of Tasmania, Australia‘The current climate crisis has seen the far right in Australia (and around the world) promote neo-Malthusian solutions wrapped up in survivalism, white supremacy and bioregionalism. Global Heating and the Australian Far Right shows how many on the Australian far right have long incorporated concepts of nature into their political outlook, with the Australian landscape seen as something to be both dominated and used to nourish white settler colonial society. Richards, Brinn and Jones expertly outline the various ways in which environmental and anti-environmental politics have been embraced by the far right and the threat they present in the era of dramatic climate change.’Evan Smith, Lecturer in History, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia; author of No Platform: A History of Anti-Fascism, Universities and the Limits of Free Speech (Routledge, 2020)‘Increasingly, global heating overturns all manner of social and political norms. Amid the turmoil of ecological collapse, elements of the far right already sense opportunities. This important book explains the origins and nature of ecofascism, and sounds a warning about how it might grow.’ Jeff Sparrow, Lecturer in Journalism, University of Melbourne, Australia

• 1. The far right and the environment in Australia 2. A heated Australian landscape: histories of environmental politics on the far right 3. Ecofascism online: Australian far-right actors’ use of environmental politics on cross-national media 4. Newsmaking on the environment: climate change resignation and denial in the Australian media 5. New catastrophism and the environment-security-development nexus: programming and advocacy during the climate crisis 6. Far-right (anti-)environmentalism in the post-truth era: global networks and future directions