Announcement: Introducing the Anti-Authoritarian Research Cluster
Anti-Authoritarian Research Cluster
This research cluster hopes to create a collaborative and intersectional dialogue on the resurgence of authoritarianism and fascism across the world and to find possible tactics around its strategies. Broad in its scope, including the study of democracies in decline, authoritarianism and fascism, examining the cultural, social, political, and economical aspects, this research cluster aims to build a consistent dialogue on the strategies employed by institutions across the world to control, manufacture consent, and subjugate its publics. We invite scholars at various stages in researchand whose work aligns with the agenda of this cluster to join us in contributing to the Anti-Authoritarian Research Cluster co-founded by Subhajit Sikder and Aishwarya Walvekar.
The key questions we are interested in researching but not limited to through this cluster are the similarities within these political formations such as the questions regarding the similarities between authoritarian regimes in terms of their attitudes towards gender and non-normative sexualities, progressive politics, secular politics and so on. We are equally interested in the local/ cultural differences between each formation and the newer ways of their attempt to power and legitimacy such as white supremacy vis-à-vis Hindu supremacy. What are the possible connections between the far-right politics in the USA, Russia, the AfD in Germany, Fratelli d'Italia, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India, Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) in Rwanda, La Libertad Avanza (LLA) in Argentina, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in China, Union Solidarity and Development Party in Myanmar (USDP), to name a few. Far from an inquiry of solely political parties, we are interested in institutions, understood in a larger sense, such as also media, family, legal system, civil society, citizen-led initiatives, and cadre-making and so on and their discursive and material strategies, construction of aesthetics, repertoire of mediations, and affective investments that they create.
Through this research cluster we hope to create an academic conversation regarding the nature and functioning of the global shift against progressive politics. We hope such a cluster would facilitate exchange and generation of ideas, thoughts, and progressive strategies. It will also function as a cluster for more collaborative academic efforts like journal articles and book chapters, but also public facing blogs, vlogs, podcasts and tiktok/instagram short videos/reels. We aim to facilitate not only inter-university collaboration but also socialisations and reflective solidarities.
To become part of this cluster, kindly fill out the following form:
https://forms.gle/TnD9baaEZkFRfQB26
Subhajit Sikder is a PhD candidate at the Department of Media and Communication at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is studying the production of far-right subject hood through the use of visual ephemera like memes, gifs, posters, t-shirts, and so on. His research is situated at the intersection of visual culture, gender studies, and far-right studies. In terms of theoretical tradition, Subhajit enjoys the productive tension between Foucauldian and Derridean theorisations.
Beyond research, Subhajit also revived the London PhD Symposium in Media and Communications in 2024. And beyond academia, Subhajit is an avid cinephile, a lover of 90s Bollywood music.
Aishwarya Walvekar is a Eutopia cotutelle doctoral scholar at the Department of Theatre and Performance Studies in University of Warwick and Department of Anthropology in Nova Universidade, Lisboa. She is examining theatrical and performative cultural productions of far-right in popular culture thinking through memory, history, and affective belonging drawing on theories from cultural anthropology, performance studies, and memory studies. Aishwarya is actively involved in popular and experimental theatre practice and in various roles since 1990s.
Apart from scratching her head over theories and concepts, teaching, and overthinking, Aishwarya enjoys making and experiencing performances on the streets, in life, and on stage.