Youth Activism in the Radical Right of Brazil and Germany

This book presents a comparative study between Brazil and Germany that analyzes the trajectories, identities, and meanings of young people's political participation in radical right movements in both countries. As a political psychologist, the author sheds light on the psychopolitical microfoundations of youth participation in radical right groups, significantly contributing to the understanding of social conservatism and its implications for democracy. By combining biographical reconstruction with narrative analysis in thematic categories, the research challenges preconceived notions about radical right movements and allows for an unprecedented exploration of the complex dynamics that drive youth engagement in these movements, revealing the role of conservative discourses and neoliberalism in constructing the identities and political agendas of these young activists. Using an interdisciplinary and post-structuralist approach, the author analyses right-wing youth activism as an experience of “liminal participation.” This innovative perspective allows for understanding how these young people navigate between practices and agendas interpreted as both democratic and anti-democratic. By participating in grassroots movements, organizing demonstrations, and studying politics, they demonstrate a commitment to civic participation while, at the same time, their agendas often rely on discourses of hate, exclusion, and attacks on minorities, challenging the democratic pact through counter-publicity strategies. Youth Activism in the Radical Right of Brazil and Germany: On the Thresholds of Politics will be of interest to political psychologists and to researchers from a wide range of disciplines within the social sciences interested in understanding the growing youth engagement in radical right-wing movements and its implications in the current political and social landscape. The original manuscript of this book was written in Brazilian Portuguese and translated into English with the help of artificial intelligence. A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content.