The International Nationalist Alliance
An example of the meme activism the alt-right enjoys. This flier was circulated across social media platforms in an effort to get Hillary Clinton supporters to “vote” via Twitter.
There’s nothing new about nationalism, of course. What the alt-right brings to the table that is new, however, is an international scope that could only be possible in the Information Age. Nationalists of the last century, for instance, were almost always highly insular and unwilling or unable to connect with their like-minded counterparts in foreign countries.
Alt-right nationalists today don’t have that problem; Americans, for example, supported Brexit online last spring by crafting and circulating memes on social media and spreading alarming stories about the raising of an EU army and direct taxation on British citizens by the Brussels government.
Come summer, alt-right supporters in Britain and Western Europe returned the favor by poring over thousands of leaked emails, looking for dirt on Hillary Clinton. Both British and American NatSocs likewise lend aid and comfort to fellow nationalists fighting for influence in Austria, Germany, Greece, and other EU states.
By constantly talking to each other, middle- and working-class whites across the West keep informed about the minutiae of each others’ politics and present a united front that is seriously pushing back against the more isolated, more old-fashioned national power structures in each country.
It may seem odd for devoted nationalists to build a genuinely international movement, but members of the alt-right see themselves as diverse members of an extended white family. One commenter sums it up this way:
“We like diversity and wish to preserve it. We like to enjoy other cultures, their uniqueness and their exotism [sic]. This is why we are against globalism. We also noticed that 99% of the good things humanity enjoys are made by white people; this is why we like our people and wish to preserve our culture of open mindedness and innovation.”
In this context, alt-right adherents believe, the national and ethnic variations between Europeans are something to be honored and preserved, rather than made homogenous under the EU or swamped with mass immigration from Africa and Asia. Many on the alt-right even admit to admiring the foreign cultures of places such as Japan for its high level of development and unified cultural identity.
Agenda And Future
Members of the alt-right, often white nationalists, frequently use infographics and other memes (like the one above), always showing the data most favorable to the point they’re making, to influence an audience on social media.
The alt-right is a new phenomenon, and its members are still working out the details of the world it wants to create. Some themes have already emerged, though.
In general, the alt-right supports strong family units and self-reliance. It opposes divorce, feminism, and other perceived obstacles to women becoming wives and mothers. Though very few of its members would prohibit women living independently, none of them sees this as ideal.
They oppose homosexuality, transgenderism, and other non-mainstream sexuality, along with pornography and other “degenerate” practices such as unwed parenting and polyamory. Laws and practices that support the traditional family, such as low unemployment among breadwinning husbands and elimination of the marriage tax penalty, enjoy unqualified support, while anti-family institutions, such as welfare programs and abortion, generally receive opposition.
Economically, the alt-right has no fixed position, but members will almost certainly support any model that promises national prosperity over globalist trade policies. Politically, the alt-right is openly gunning for the EU and the UN. They view these unelected transnational bodies as a direct threat to the nation state, and no amount of hostility to them is too much.
Culturally, the alt-right rejects much that is “modern,” especially in art and music. Religious feeling in the group varies between fundamentalist Christians and convinced atheists, but they are almost all very hostile to both Islam and Judaism as foreign intruders.
The year 2016 was a wild ride for politics and society, and the alt-right was arguably the driving force behind much of it. This year promises to be just as wild, and with Trump in the White House and a British general election scheduled for early May, which will almost certainly be a referendum on Brexit, the alt-right has no intention of sitting on the sidelines.
