Conference that intends to discuss how the new far-right of the 21st century positions itself in relation to the legacy of classical fascism. Deadline: 4 January 2026

From Fascism to Neo-Fascism?

(Dis)Continuities Between Classical Fascism and 21st Century’s Far-Right

The debate on the political, ideological and social nature of contemporary far-right, especially the one active in the 21st century, has been ongoing for a long time. Academic debate, in this case more than in others, closely follows the public debate on political developments that are perceived to have dramatic consequences for the future. A large number of positions have been proposed and a wide range of concepts offered, applicable to specific cases, whether national or regional in scope, or to the global phenomenon itself — because, let us start here, it is a global phenomenon we are dealing with. Just as fascism was a hundred years ago. However, research is almost always forced to take a position on the question of continuities (Finchelstein, 2019; Palheta, 2022) and discontinuities (Forti, 2024) between, on the one hand, classical fascism (1922-1945) and what were in those days other ultra-reactionary phenomena that in the interwar years became by-products of fascism through the process of fascistization, and, on the other hand, the new forms adopted by the far-right since 1945 and, above all, since the turn of the 20th century to the 21st century. In the name of the urgency of a scientific approach to what appears to be the most serious crisis of liberal systems since the 1930s, at this conference we intend to discuss how the new extreme right of the 21st century positions itself in relation to the legacy of classical fascism, because “we need to explain the continuity between historical fascism and contemporary right-wing populism as a radicalization of post-liberal politics based on the erosion of democratic participation and the emergence of a new politics of fear” (Woodley, 2010).

In line with this position, this conference will also welcome studies on the anti-fascist political cultures, starting with those that emerged in reaction to the fascist wave of the 1930s and its political success (Kallis, 2015). The aim here is to make room for studies on the variety of forms of resistance to fascism. Anti-fascism is also a transnational movement (Traverso, 2004), and it did not lose its political effectiveness in 1945 or become a community of memory of a past encapsulated in time. It has re-emerged over the last 80 years whenever the extreme right has reappeared in force. As is the case today.

We welcome different possible areas for papers and panels on:

(i) (Fascism(s), neo-fascism, far-right, reaction and modernity. Concepts and theory.
(ii) The nation, the West, white supremacy: one hundred years of far-right worldvisions.
(iii) Hypermasculinity, anti-feminism and misogyny: social reproduction and fascism.
(iv) One hundred years of far-right political culture: continuities, discontinuities, adaptation, networks.
(v) Fascism, neo-fascism and the other(s): specificities of fascist and global far-right political articulation of xenophobia and racism.
(vi) Party, State, movements, militias, welfare, associations. The organisational dimension of the far-right. (vii) Violence, war, and genocide: far-right and political action.
(viiii) Fascism and crisis: context and causality of far-right boosts in history.
(ix) Anti-fascism as a transnational political culture: resisting fascism, preserving democracy, rebuilding democracy, from the 1920s to the 2020s. Intersections with anti-colonialism, anti-racism and feminism.
(x) Neo-fascism, far-right and anti-fascism in collective memory: uses of the past, memory, “culture wars” and political action.

Submission and presentations:

Researchers interested in attending or contributing to the conference should send an email with a title, an abstract (350 words max.), short bio, and contact information to congresso.neo.fascismo.2026@gmail.com no later than 4 January 2026.

We welcome individual papers as well as panel proposals in English. We will also welcome proposals for creative/artistic interventions that are built on an interdisciplinary intersection with the social sciences, which will be subject to peer review in the same way as proposals for papers and panels. In this case, proposals must include a description of the performance (specifying the means and time) and an abstract of objectives. Acceptance will depend on the actual and practical possibilities for integration into the programme.

Presentations should be done in-person in Portuguese, English or Spanish. There will be no online presentations.

Notification of acceptance by 8 February 2026.

No registration fees will be charged.

>> Download the call for proposals (PDF) <<

Organising committee:

Manuel Loff (FLUP / IHC — NOVA FCSH / IN2PAST) Luís Trindade (IHC — NOVA FCSH / IN2PAST)
Arturo Zoffmann (IHC — NOVA FCSH / IN2PAST)
Ana Sofia Ferreira (FLUP / IS — Universidade do Porto) Sílvia Correia (FLUP / IS — Universidade do Porto) Adriano Amaral (IS — Universidade do Porto)
Gabriela Azevedo (IS — Universidade do Porto)
Bruno Madeira (Universidade do Minho / Lab2PT / IN2PAST) Sérgio Neto (FLUP / CITCEM)
Afonso Silva (UAB / IHC — NOVA FCSH / IN2PAST)
Carlos Martins (IS — Universidade do Porto)