Cohort: POLS 40

Topic of the thesis:  White and Male Supremacy in European Far-Right Politics: A Comparative Multi-Method Study Across France, Germany, Italy, and Spain

Abstract: This PhD project examines contemporary radical- and extreme-right parties and groups (here referred to as the 'far right') through an intersectional lens, focusing on the interaction between white supremacy and male supremacy within their ideology, narratives, and practices. While much of the existing scholarship has tended to examine race and gender as separate dimensions of far-right politics, this research argues that they are closely interconnected and mutually reinforcing, shaping multiple exclusionary strategies.
The project is structured as a paper-based thesis. It addresses the following general research question: How do white supremacy and male supremacy intersect within contemporary far-right ideology and discourse in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain? The first paper consists of a scoping literature review of academic publications from 2008 to 2024 that explicitly address both white and male supremacy in the analysis of the American and European far right. The review maps the field's development, identifies conceptual and empirical gaps, and introduces the Wheel of the Intersectionality of Hate as an original analytical framework to capture how different axes of domination interact within far-right discourse.
The second paper empirically tests this framework through a comparative analysis of mainstream, radical, and extreme-right actors in France, Spain, Germany, and Italy. Using computational methods applied to a multi-source dataset, it assesses the presence and interaction of racialised and gendered narratives across different political and media contexts.
Building on these results, the project will further explore the discourse of 'remigration' through topic modelling techniques. A final study might focus on the instrumentalisation of women and children within extreme-right alternative media, analysing how conspiracy theories, disinformation, and moral panic intersect to preserve white male dominance.

Graduated from: Vita-Salute San Raffaele University (BA); Maastricht University (MSc)

Degrees obtained: BA in Philosophy; Research Master in European Studies

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