The RPRN was successful in generating funding via the GW4 Building Communities Programme to allow for the development of the network towards a sustainable future:
This project will consolidate and expand a network of HASS researchers in the South-West and Wales to tackle a pressing, multifaceted issue facing democracy. As exclusionary, authoritarian and reactionary politics become increasingly mainstream, it is essential for scholars from different backgrounds and disciplines to come together to provide not only a better understanding of the emerging political and social threats, but to propose ways forward. Building on the varied research strengths in the South-West and Wales and on existing connections within academia and with stakeholders, this network will serve as a springboard for wider collaborations, knowledge exchange, training and dissemination.
2024 will see a number of prominent elections taking place around the world and many are likely to be contended by candidates and parties whose politics pose a direct threat to democracy and inclusion. Indeed, the threat of far right and reactionary politics and their mainstreaming has become one of the most pressing concerns for many democracies and communities around the world. Yet at present, there have only been few attempts at tackling this issue in an intersectional manner, something this network seeks to address.
By bringing scholars from different fields and disciplines together, this network will serve as a platform to disseminate research and good practice and build larger research projects with the aim of developing a sustainable network on this issue key to democracies. The network will bring together scholars with an interest in reactionary politics broadly so as to break down silos and ensure a more intersectional approach around exclusionary politics such as racism, sexism, anti-LGBTQ+ politics, hostility towards migrants, and the removal of services from disabled people. The current state of polycrisis and issues such as the climate emergency and pandemic have made clear that such an intersectional approach is essential to counter the rise of authoritarian politics.
Our aims will be to
- initiate and consolidate collaborations and take them to the next stage through larger funding applications with a view to make the network sustainable.
- develop training opportunities for ECRs, but also more established colleagues around the ethics and methods of researching reactionary politics in a more well-rounded, intersectional way.
- engage with stakeholders to help shape the agenda of the issue and provide support in their actions towards more inclusive democracies.
Institution leads:
- Bath: Aurelien Mondon, Fran Amery, Sophia Hatzisavvidou
- Bristol: Uygar Baspehlivan
- Cardiff: Emmy Eklundh
- Exeter: Rebecca Yeo
