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Liam Gillespie

@liamgillespie.bsky.social

110 followers 81 following 24 posts

Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Melbourne. I research far-right political violence, ethnic nationalism, and white supremacy. Current projects on rightwing conspiracy theories and the Sovereign Citizen movement.

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Liam Gillespie @liamgillespie.bsky.social · Dec 15

Happy to have this out! New article in @identitiesjournal.bsky.social which examines how work on far right ‘mainstreaming’ can sometimes paradoxically exceptionalise the far right even as it attempts to explain how it has become un-exceptional.

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

On the proximity of the far right and the misuses of the ‘mainstreaming’ metaphor

A recent body of work has examined the normalization of far-right ideas and political violence. This is often referred to as the ‘mainstreaming’ of the far right. This article explores some of the ...

www.tandfonline.com

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Reposted by Liam Gillespie

Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.bsky.social · 14d

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

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Liam Gillespie @liamgillespie.bsky.social · Sep 5

New article by me in @aunz.theconversation.com which discusses how explaining March For Australia *solely* in reference to 'extreme' actors provides an alibi to the racism + nationalism of 'mainstream' Australia:
theconversation.com/blaming-extr...

Blaming ‘extremists’ for March For Australia rallies lets ‘mainstream’ Australia off the hook

March For Australia did not occur in a vacuum. There’s a long history of racism and nationalism we’re at risk of obscuring.

theconversation.com

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Liam Gillespie @liamgillespie.bsky.social · Sep 1

And here: www.identitiesjournal.com/blog-collect...

The proximity of the ‘far’ right

Bluesky: @identitiesjournal.bsky.social

www.identitiesjournal.com

Liam Gillespie @liamgillespie.bsky.social · Sep 1

I have previously written about a version of this phenomenon here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

On the proximity of the far right and the misuses of the ‘mainstreaming’ metaphor

www.tandfonline.com

Liam Gillespie @liamgillespie.bsky.social · Sep 1

I write that while the far-right deploys euphemism to launder its public image, the strategy cuts both ways by providing an alibi to "mainstream" nationalists who want to participate and are equally complicit.

Liam Gillespie @liamgillespie.bsky.social · Sep 1

New article by me: The March for Australia’s racism can’t just be blamed on far-right ‘extremists’ - it’s been enabled by the mainstream | Liam Gillespie www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The March for Australia’s racism can’t just be blamed on far-right 'extremists’ - it’s been enabled by the mainstream | Liam Gillespie

The weekend’s protests provided an alibi to nationalism, obscuring the central place racism has always occupied

www.theguardian.com

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Liam Gillespie @liamgillespie.bsky.social · Jul 31

Liam Gillespie @liamgillespie.bsky.social · Jun 11

New blog post with @identitiesjournal.bsky.social on my recent article:

Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power @identitiesjournal.bsky.social · Jun 11

'The proximity of the 'far' right'

New on the #IdentitiesBlog, by @liamgillespie.bsky.social

Read the blog post ⬇️
identitiesjournal.co...

@nasarmeer.bsky.social @aaronwinter.bsky.social @tandfresearch.bsky.social

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Liam Gillespie @liamgillespie.bsky.social · Apr 15

Thank you! :)

Liam Gillespie @liamgillespie.bsky.social · Apr 15

We then critique the widespread idea CTs are spreading bc we now live in a ‘post-truth’ era. We argue the ‘post-’ of post-truth severs the past from the present by portraying CTs as a ‘new’ problem, effectively masking the historical continuities of racism that have enabled CTs to take hold.

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Liam Gillespie @liamgillespie.bsky.social · Apr 15

We argue that framing racist CTs as the 'irrational' obsession of extreme actors discursively portrays them as being incompatible with liberal society. This obscures both the role of paranoia in liberal society AND its racialised structure. We critique this as a postracial manoeuvre.

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Liam Gillespie @liamgillespie.bsky.social · Apr 15

New article out with Sahar Ghumkhor and Sean McMorrow! Here, we offer a critique of dominant approaches to understanding the spread of racist conspiracy theories.

Open access: doi.org/10.1057/s412...

Race still matters: the (post) racial politics of conspiracy theories - Contemporary Political Theory

The proliferation of conspiracy theories is seemingly on the rise. Among them, are many that are explicitly racist. Examples of this include Great Replacement Theory, White Genocide, QAnon, and Eurabi...

doi.org

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Reposted by Liam Gillespie

Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.bsky.social · Apr 4

With reactionaries, as always, hypocrisy is always the point

They can literally disappear people for a tattoo or expressing an opinion and call it justice but stealing millions from the public purse is an "bookkeeping error" and the sentence a "witch hunt"

Elon Musk reposting Trump and saying:
Free Le Pen!
Donald J. Trump
@realDonald Trump
The Witch Hunt against Marine Le Pen is another example of European Leftists using Lawfare to silence Free Speech, and censor their Political Opponent, this time going so far as to put that Opponent in prison. It is the same "playbook" that was used against me by a group of Lunatics and Losers, like Norm Eisen, Andrew Weissmann, and Lisa Monaco. They spent the last nine years thinking of nothing else, and they FAILED, because the People of the United States realized that they were only Corrupt Lawyers and Politicians. I don't know Marine Le Pen, but do appreciate how hard she worked for so many years. She suffered losses, but kept on going, and now, just before what would be a Big Victory, they get her on a minor charge that she probably knew nothing about - Sounds like a
"bookkeeping" error to me. It is all so bad for France, and the Great French People, no matter what side they are on. FREE MARINE LE PEN!

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Reposted by Liam Gillespie

Sasha Senderovich 🌻 @returnstosender.bsky.social · Apr 3

My @nehgov.bsky.social grant “In the Shadow of the Holocaust: Short Fiction by Jewish Writers from the Soviet Union” was canceled by “DOGE.” The project doesn’t support "the furtherance of the President's agenda.” Jews surviving genocide: out of step w/ the agenda of using Jews to destroy higher ed.

Et voilà: our NEH grant with Harriet Murav for “In the Shadow of the Holocaust: Short Fiction by Jewish Writers from the Soviet Union” has been terminated. This project does not, the letter notes, support “the furtherance of the President’s agenda.” I guess work on Jews surviving genocide is out of step with the agenda of this presidential administration whose only use for Jews is the weaponization of Jewish safety to destroy higher education.

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Reposted by Liam Gillespie

Fran Amery @franamery.bsky.social · Apr 4

I did an interview with @reacpolrn.bsky.social about my article on 'gender critical' biopolitics:
reacpol.net/gendercritic...

Interview: ‘Gender critical’ feminism as biopolitical project (Fran Amery) - Reactionary Politics Research Network

This interview is based on Fran Amery's article '‘Gender critical’ feminism as biopolitical project' (2025)

reacpol.net

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Liam Gillespie @liamgillespie.bsky.social · Mar 31

Abstract here:

Liam Gillespie @liamgillespie.bsky.social · Mar 31

New article day! My latest piece on the nomophilia of Sovereign Citizens and their critics. Open access: doi.org/10.1177/0964...

‘Sovereign Citizen Gets Roasted’: On the Nomophilia of Sovereign Citizens and Their Settler-Colonial Critics - Liam Gillespie, 2025

Sovereign Citizens have gained mainstream attention by refusing to recognise law. This attention often entails ridicule, as illustrated by viral Sovereign Citiz...

doi.org

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Reposted by Liam Gillespie

Reactionary Politics Research Network @reacpolrn.bsky.social · Mar 31

📢New Blog 📢

Our member, @odiloncaldeira.com, discusses the rapid development of neofascism in Brazil and the future of Bolsonarism.

reacpol.net/brazil-neofa...

Interview: Neo-Fascism and the Far Right in Brazil (Odilon Caldeira Neto) - Reactionary Politics Research Network

This interview is based on Odilon Caldeira Neto’s book ‘Neo-Fascism and the Far Right in Brazil' published Cambridge University Press (2025).

reacpol.net

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Reposted by Liam Gillespie

Reactionary Politics Research Network @reacpolrn.bsky.social · Mar 25

📣New blog📣

Our member, @calderarocha.bsky.social, discusses her recent article on the appropriation of feminism by a far-right women's collective of 'identitarian feminists.' Check it out below!

reacpol.net/farright-fem...

Interview: Far-Right Women’s Appropriation of Feminism in France (Charlène Calderaro) - Reactionary Politics Research Network

This interview is based on Charlène Calderaro's article 'Far-Right Women’s Appropriation of Feminism in France' (2025)

reacpol.net

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Reposted by Liam Gillespie

Hannah McCann @binarythis.bsky.social · Mar 24

This is about Columbia bowing to authoritarianism but hello hasn’t this degradation also been a slow burn? The long kowtowing of universities to political and market demands. The “event” of capitulation happens because the groundwork is there

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/24/o...

Opinion | Universities Gave Us the iPhone, the Jet Engine and Gatorade. We’re Tossing That Away. (Gift Article)

The postwar compact on research that powered America’s economic and military dominance is under threat.

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Liam Gillespie

Reactionary Politics Research Network @reacpolrn.bsky.social · Mar 24

ICYMI check out our timely interview with @emmyeklundh.bsky.social and Sebastián Ronderos about their paper on the role of affect and fantasy in political identification. A must-read for anyone working on reactionary politics!

Reactionary Politics Research Network @reacpolrn.bsky.social · Feb 12

📣New interview📣

As part of a new interview series with our members, we've talked to @emmyeklundh.bsky.social and Sebastián Ronderos about their new paper in @jlanpol.bsky.social and the role of affect and fantasy in reactionary politics. Check it out below!

reacpol.net/fantasy-reac...

Interview: Affect and fantasy in reactionary politics (Emmy Eklundh and Sebastián Ronderos) - Reactionary Politics Research Network

This interview is based on Emmy Eklundh and Sebastián Ronderos's article 'Studying affect through discourse theory: Towards a methodology of practice' published in The Journal of Language and Politics...

reacpol.net

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Liam Gillespie @liamgillespie.bsky.social · Mar 19

Amazing work all can't wait to read!

Reposted by Liam Gillespie

Reactionary Politics Research Network @reacpolrn.bsky.social · Mar 13

📢Webinar announcement📢

Our ethics of researching the far right webinar with
@crexuio.bsky.social and CASEI returns on Thursday 20th March with a session on memory and far right studies. Check out the full details and our line up of great speakers below!

reacpol.net/webinar-6/

Webinar 6: The haunting past: memory and far right studies (20/03/2025) - Reactionary Politics Research Network

This webinar series, co-organized by RPRN, CASEI and C-REX, aims to initiate and facilitate a much needed discussion about the methodological, ethical, political, personal, practical and professional ...

reacpol.net

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Reposted by Liam Gillespie

Aaron Winter @aaronwinter.bsky.social · Mar 10

I see experts warning & writing about the mainstreaming of the far right. It's already happened & should not have taken a nazi salute & overt fascism to see it. If you think counterextremism or liberal centrism are solutions, you have not really been paying attention. Better late than never though.

Online Hate: From the Far-Right to the ‘Alt-Right’ and from the Margins to the Mainstream by Aaron Winter (2019)

Reactionary Democracy:
How Racism and the Populist Far Right Became Mainstream (2020)
by Aurelien Mondon and Aaron Winter

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Reposted by Liam Gillespie

Insurgent Thought @insurgentthought.bsky.social · Mar 10

For those who doubt that the US would ever deport US citizens.

The Mexican Repatriation was the repatriation, deportation, and expulsion of Mexicans and Mexican Americans from the United States during the Great Depression between 1929 and 1939. Estimates of how many were repatriated, deported, or expelled range from 300,000 to 2 million (of which 40-60% were citizens of the United States, overwhelmingly children) [4):fn 2015]

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