Aurélien Mondon | Lightnews

Aurelien Mondon

@aurelmondon.bsky.social

13K followers 630 following 3.3K posts

Researching the mainstreaming of reactionary/far-right politics

Co-convenor of @reacpolrn.bsky.social

Reactionary Democracy w. @aaronwinter.bsky.social and co-editor of The Ethics of Researching the Far Right

Full profile:

https://shorturl.at/CiYKm .. more

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Political science 65%

Sociology 14%

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Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.bsky.social · Sep 24

Core to reactionary politics is a cowardly project that aims to protect and restore privilege and hierarchies of oppression

Some thoughts on terminology and the term reactionary @reacpolrn.bsky.social

reacpol.net/on-reactiona...

Article: On reactionary politics (Aurelien Mondon) - Reactionary Politics Research Network

This article by Aurelien Mondon explores the meaning of reactionary politics and its use in our current context

reacpol.net

Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.bsky.social · 12h

This is what happens when universities cave to reactionary panics...

Obviously, it should have always been clear that, while students and some staff might, universities as institutions would not be at the forefront of the resistance

gwen howerton @kissphoria.bsky.social · 13h

OU has put the professor here on administrative leave:

Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.bsky.social · 13h

It's in the article.

Reposted by Sander van der Linden, Peter Thorne, Scott L. Greer , and 32 more Sander van der Linden, Peter Thorne, Scott L. Greer, Rosemary A. Joyce, David Rothschild, Philip N. Cohen, Jonathan M. Gilligan, Juan Cole, Rebecca Tushnet, David R. Miller, Silvia Secchi, Adrian Daub, Caroline T. Schroeder, Andrew Jacobs, Stacy D. VanDeveer, Margot C. Finn, Rebecca M. Bratspies, Brian Keegan, William Myers, David C. Kimball, Sarah Roberts, Aurélien Mondon, Mark Rice, Lisa Diedrich, Ann Bartow, Alessandro Rigolon, Seth Masket, Raúl Pacheco-Vega, Andrew Rudalevige, Brooke Harrington, Daxton R. Stewart, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, Nathan P. Kalmoe, Clark Gray, Paul Franco

gwen howerton @kissphoria.bsky.social · 13h

OU has put the professor here on administrative leave:

The University of Oklahoma takes seriously concerns involving First Amendment rights, certainly including religious freedoms. Upon receiving notice from the student on the grading of an assignment, the University immediately began a full review of the situation and has acted swiftly to address the matter.
First, the college acted immediately to address the academic issue raised by the student. College leaders contacted her on the day her letter was received and have maintained regular communication throughout the process. As previously stated, a formal grade appeals process was conducted. The process resulted in steps to ensure no academic harm to the student from the graded assignments.
Second, the student reported filing a claim of illegal discrimination based on religious beliefs to the appropriate university office. OU has a clear process for reviewing such claims and it has been activated.
The graduate student instructor has been placed on administrative leave pending the finalization of this process. To ensure fairness in the process, a full-time professor is serving as the course instructor for the remainder of the semester.
OU remains firmly committed to fairness, respect and protecting every student's right to express sincerely held religious beliefs.
The UNIVERSITY of OKLAHOMA

Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.bsky.social · 14h

The far right loves to pretend it's an alternative, it speaks truth to power and cares about the "left behind"

It doesn't take much though to realise that their ideology is innately elitist and tied to wealth

Here exemplified by the French Rassemblement National:

www.lemonde.fr/politique/ar...

Le Rassemblement national poursuit sa mue libérale : « L’ultrariche, il faut être réaliste, vous ne l’attraperez jamais »

Si l’extrême droite a voté quelques hausses d’impôt à l’efficacité contestée, les débats budgétaires confirment le tournant favorable aux grandes entreprises pris par le parti de Marine Le Pen et Jord...

www.lemonde.fr

Reposted by Christopher Wright, Michael Zimmer, Aurélien Mondon , and 1 more Christopher Wright, Michael Zimmer, Aurélien Mondon, Gilles Louppe

Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ @olivia.science · 15h

We can't really say this enough...

> Anastasia Berg [at UCL Irvine] said that new research — and what she's hearing directly from colleagues across various industries — shows that employees who heavily rely on AI are losing core skills at a startling rate.

www.businessinsider.com/ai-tools-are...

AI tools are 'deskilling' workers, philosophy professor says

A philosophy professor warns that AI reliance is weakening workers' judgment, creativity, and problem-solving.

www.businessinsider.com

Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.bsky.social · 16h

This is what I called hegemonic defeatism, looking at the French case

We're about to see a lot of people who pretended to be against the far right when it was easy give up before taking any real stand

academic.oup.com/pa/article/7...

Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.bsky.social · 16h

Mate...

Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.bsky.social · 16h

No, you should never accept to even contemplate collaborating with the far right

It might protect you for a while if you're privileged enough but it will only legitimise them and put many communities at risk as well as democracy

I can't believe we are at the stage when this has to be said...

Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.bsky.social · 16h

100%. This is what I called hegemonic defeatism in a paper recently (I didn't notice at the time how well it seems to apply)...

Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.bsky.social · 16h

All of them have. Truly appalling.

Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.bsky.social · 16h

Incredible...

Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.bsky.social · 16h

Nope, the "everyone" means anyone right of a leftwing alternative here

Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.bsky.social · 16h

Yes absolutely! I included that as part of the infighting... Giving anyone on the left or right of that party any excuse to dislike them...

Reposted by Aurélien Mondon

Jolyon Maugham KC @goodlawproject.org · 16h

Professor Deborah Prentice, Vice Chancellor at Cambridge University, is getting some grief for this headline which suggests she is cosying up to Reform. But what she has *actually* said is entirely right and sensible.

My question is, why is The Times seeking to undermine Cambridge University?

Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.bsky.social · 17h

After weeks of everyone trying to tank a left alternative making fun of the infighting and the provisional name, let's stick to both, shall we?

At the moment, only the Greens seem to take the urgency of the situation we're in seriously...

Reposted by Aurélien Mondon

Sarah Viktoria 🇬🇧🏳️‍⚧️⚧️🦗 @sarahviktoria.bsky.social · 20h

What fresh hell is this? #YourParty #TransRights

Still image capture of Your Party conference 30th November 2025 live video feed on YouTube, showing a person speaking and at the bottom of the screen there is an orange banner with white letters and the words "Yes: include trans liberation."

Reposted by Aurélien Mondon

Benjamin Braun @benbraun.bsky.social · 22h

“The trouble is, there’s an alliance between Treasury officials and ideologues on the left” is the saddest Labour mandarin quote I’ve ever read. Just how lost are these people?

“The trouble is, there’s an alliance between Treasury officials and ideologues on the left,” one Whitehall source said.
They added: “A lot of this is driven by envy – there are people working in the Treasury who are very clever, they have good degrees, they have chosen to go into the civil service but they look at their contemporaries who are earning multiple times what they earn and they resent it.

Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.bsky.social · 22h

Absolutely. Particularly since these 'flaws' have been known for a long time and his thinking has been thoroughly dissected by now. It's a useful reminder no doubt but that cannot be the entire strategy.

Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.bsky.social · 23h

Or Farright 🤷🏻‍♂️

Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.bsky.social · 23h

My autocorrect keeps correcting Farage to Garage and I think I might just let it do it from now on

Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.bsky.social · 23h

Absolutely. It shouldn't be hard to understand either for anyone who cares about this mainstreaming rather than Farage himself

Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.bsky.social · 23h

Absolutely. I'm amazed they're asking him to apologise as if that would make a difference to the damage he's doing and that they've enabled...

Sigh... What a state of things we live in...

Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.bsky.social · 23h

Yes, it's really tricky and it's been annoying seeing some responses from people I expected would know better

Obviously, the point was never to say that his past behaviour was irrelevant but surely it should not be radical at this stage to expect wider scrutiny

Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.bsky.social · 1d

Reposting it as this shouldn't be a controversial take if what we care about is the resurgence of far-right politics rather than Farage himself and yet I'm surprised by the reaction (or lack thereof) it has caused

The issue is not (just) past behaviour, it is what's being mainstreamed today

Reposted by David J. Galbreath

Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.bsky.social · 1d

Focusing on extreme events such as the reports of Farage’s teenage past can exceptionalise the nature of far-right politics and make it harder to call out... It also downplays the role played by the mainstream media and politicians in the process of mainstreaming

theconversation.com/nigel-farage...

Nigel Farage’s alleged teenage comments are a distraction from the damage of his politics

Reports of such appalling behaviour – and Farage’s reaction – give us an insight into the leader of the UK’s rising far-right party.

theconversation.com

Reposted by Aurélien Mondon

Andy Fleming @slackbastard.bsky.social · 1d

Periodic reminder that, while I don't like being patronised, I do appreciate being Patreonized.

(I also have stickers if youse want some.)

www.patreon.com/slackbastard

Get more from Andy Fleming on Patreon

creating slackbastard

www.patreon.com

Reposted by Aurélien Mondon

Ben Lorber @benlorber8.bsky.social · 1d

Interesting assertion from Bari Weiss’s The Free Press. I’m sure they apply it consistently around the world, right?

Reposted by Brendan Nyhan, Steve Peers, Gerald Friedman , and 6 more Brendan Nyhan, Steve Peers, Gerald Friedman, James Goodwin, Anne Norton, Aurélien Mondon, Ann Bartow, Timothy D. McBride, James M. Thomas

The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 1d

Stephen Miller’s Wife @katiemiller : “Can you cite the statute that makes the boat bombings illegal?”

@bakarisellers.bsky.social : “The due process
clause in the constitution.”

Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.bsky.social · 1d

Ok, fair enough

Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.bsky.social · 1d

And that's fine but that's not enough as you said. I've been discussing the need to call out far-right politics for what they are my entire career

My point is that I cannot do this without also calling out those who have enabled him and his politics and are conveniently calling him out today

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