Maria Darwish

Örebro University, Gender studies, PhD candidate

University of Oslo, Centre for gender research, Graduate Student

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PhD candidate in Gender Studies, researching ecofascism and affect,
Örebro University, Sweden.

Masters degree in Gender Studies with focus on masculinity and (green) neo-Nazism,
University of Oslo, Norway

[email protected]
Supervisors: Maria Jansson and Dag Balkmar

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Papers by Maria Darwish

Ecofascism and the Politics of Replacement in the Discourse of the Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM)

Routledge eBooks, Oct 31, 2023

Fascism, nature and communication: a Discursive-affective analysis of cuteness in ecofascist propaganda

Feminist media studies, Feb 21, 2024

Green neo-Nazism: Examining the intersection of masculinity, far-right extremism and environmentalism in the Nordic Resistance Movement

This thesis aims to examine the intersections of right-wing extremism, masculinity and environmen... more This thesis aims to examine the intersections of right-wing extremism, masculinity and environmentalism. The latter is usually associated with the political left rather than the extreme right, and the feminine rather than the masculine. Research has shown that far-right subcultures are male dominated and defined in hyper-masculine terms. Nonetheless, the neo-Nazi group the Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM) emphasizes environmental protection and animal welfare in their political manifesto, which challenges our typical ideas of what farright extremism looks like today. In this study, I ask how gender affects the NRM's construction of identity, what neo-Nazi environmentalism is, and how the NRM relates to fascist and Nazi traditions in a contemporary context. To answer these questions, I have conducted a narrative analysis of the NRM's podcast Nordic Frontier. I have relied on discursive problem analysis and role theory in my investigation. The analysis includes a contextual perspective, and therefore I also rely on historical literature. From the analysis, I construct two main lines of argumentation. First, I argue that there are gaps in the general understanding of neo-Nazi environmentalism. While some have discarded neo-Nazi environmentalism as a strategic effort to mask and expand racism and discrimination, I argue that neo-Nazi environmentalism is also a reflection of Nazi natureideology. I also find that neo-Nazi environmentalism is an expression of anticosmopolitanism, and a response to a fear of a changing social world. Additionally, neo-Nazi environmentalism serves as a new arena for proving manhood in a time where traditional manhood is challenged. Second, I argue that masculinity is an organizing principle for the NRM's far-right resistance. I find that the NRM constructs an ideal masculine Self through othering, and by what I call 'crisising', which refers to the process of accentuating crisis tendencies by problematizing issues like immigration or social change. Drawing on historical references, canonical texts, biological reductionism and contemporary ideas, I find that the NRM has developed a masculinized environmentally oriented neo-Nazism. 6 The Right of Public Access ensures the general public's right to access certain public or privately-owned land, rivers and lakes for tourism, recreation and exercise. This right is ensured by law in the Nordic countries.

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Nature, Masculinities, Care, and the Far-Right

Men, Masculinities, and Earth, 2021

This chapter examines the entanglements of masculinities and nature through a focus on ecofascism... more This chapter examines the entanglements of masculinities and nature through a focus on ecofascism. By considering the concept of care, Darwish shows how the Scandinavian neo-Nazi group The Nordic Resistance Movement’s (NRM) environmentalism and care for nature translate into sexist, racist and anti-humanist agendas. Ecofascism is based on Nazism’s ideological nature complex and influential discourses in ecological thought from the latter half of the 1900s. The NRM’s mobilisation over the last decade reflects a resurgence of ecofascism as reactions to global climate change and other crisis tendencies. This chapter also demonstrates how oppression of others can become entangled with politicised ecosophies. By appearing as entities free of ideology, these far-right conceptualisations of “nature” and “environmentalism” become perverse and powerful means of seeking ideological legitimacy. Darwish sheds light on the risks faced by the foundational discourse on ecological masculinities for not rejecting ecofascism strongly enough and suggests that the discourse must sharpen its definitive considerations of care as all-inclusive and clarify its opposition to ecofascism in order to ensure the greatest possible care for the earth, all others and self.

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Review 1 of "White supremacy and the future of liberal democracy – the case of the Nordic Resistance Movement

CrimRxiv

Når grønt blir brunt

Når grønt blir brunt, 2019

Den nynazistiske Nordiske Motstandsbevegelsen (DNM) hevder å være Nordens nye grønne parti. Miljø... more

Green neo-Nazism Examining the intersection of masculinity, far-right extremism and environmentalism in the Nordic Resistance Movement

Green neo-Nazism: Examining the intersection of masculinity, far-right extremism and environmentalism in the Nordic Resistance Movement, 2018

This thesis aims to examine the intersections of right-wing extremism, masculinity and environmen... more This thesis aims to examine the intersections of right-wing extremism, masculinity and environmentalism. The latter is usually associated with the political left rather than the extreme right, and the feminine rather than the masculine. Research has shown that far-right subcultures are male dominated and defined in hyper-masculine terms. Nonetheless, the neoNazi group the Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM) emphasizes environmental protection and animal welfare in their political manifesto, which challenges our typical ideas of what farright extremism looks like today. In this study, I ask how gender affects the NRM’s construction of identity, what neo-Nazi environmentalism is, and how the NRM relates to fascist and Nazi traditions in a contemporary context. To answer these questions, I have conducted a narrative analysis of the NRM’s podcast Nordic Frontier. I have relied on discursive problem analysis and role theory in my investigation. The analysis includes a contextual perspective, and therefore I also rely on historical literature.

From the analysis, I construct two main lines of argumentation. First, I argue that there are gaps in the general understanding of neo-Nazi environmentalism. While some have discarded neo-Nazi environmentalism as a strategic effort to mask and expand racism and discrimination, I argue that neo-Nazi environmentalism is also a reflection of Nazi natureideology. I also find that neo-Nazi environmentalism is an expression of anticosmopolitanism, and a response to a fear of a changing social world. Additionally, neo-Nazi environmentalism serves as a new arena for proving manhood in a time where traditional manhood is challenged. Second, I argue that masculinity is an organizing principle for the NRM’s far-right resistance. I find that the NRM constructs an ideal masculine Self through othering, and by what I call ‘crisising’, which refers to the process of accentuating crisis tendencies by problematizing issues like immigration or social change. Drawing on historical references, canonical texts, biological reductionism and contemporary ideas, I find that the NRM has developed a masculinized environmentally oriented neo-Nazism.

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