Restless Hegemony: Far-Right Political Movements in the United States and Their Implications

Against the backdrop of escalating social division， ethnic rivalry， and political polarization in recent years， the far-right political movements in the United States have become all the more rampant. Far-right political ideologies have become mainstreamed， and far-right political forces such as the Proud Boys have continued to grow. Incidents such as “occupying Capitol Hill” have manifested the heavy blow of the far-right political movements to the United States. These movements have also brought profound international impact， with their close linkage to the far-right political forces in Europe and other regions. In addition， with a strong sense of anti-China hawkishness， they play an important role in driving the U.S. strategic adjustment towards China， which will bring more negative spillover impacts on the China-U.S. relations.

U.S. Far-Right Political Movements Have Become a National Security Threat

When describing the severe internal crisis facing his country， U.S. President Joe Biden emphasized that “political extremism， white supremacy， and domestic terrorism” have posed major challenges. These challenges are closely linked to the far-right political movements. It can be clearly seen that far-right political movements in the United States have become a major threat. Joe Biden explicitly requested the Office of the Director of National Intelligence， the Department of Homeland Security， the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other government agencies to carry out a joint assessment of the threat of domestic violent extremism， and to develop appropriate countermeasures based on it. The Biden administration has also reset the position of Homeland Security Advisor to the President， whose main responsibilities include dealing with the security threat posed by far-right political forces in the United States. The White House National Security Council has also placed a high priority on the issue of far-right political movements. In June 2021， the Biden administration released its first National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism， declaring that far-right violence is the greatest threat to U.S. domestic security.

Far-right ideologies are a mishmash of white supremacy， anti-federalism， and other political philosophies. Although the far-right is born out of conservatism， it views both liberal and left-wing political ideas as opponents and fiercely opposes the moderate， establishment wing of conservatism. Members of the far-right political movements in the United States are from diverse backgrounds， who don’t belong to one single organization. The most representative figures include Richard Spencer， head of the National Policy Institute， and Andrew Anglin， founder of the neo-Nazi website Daily Stormer. In summary， the positions and advocacy of the U.S. far-right political movements include the following：

First， they advocate white nationalism and white supremacy， claiming that the United States is facing a “genocide” against the whites and calling for reclaiming the country that belongs to the whites. Second， they are anti-globalization and anti-immigrant， arguing that economic globalization has led to the plight of the white middle and lower classes in the United States， and that immigrants are competing for jobs with the whites. Third， they are anti-elite and anti-immigrant， arguing that political and business elites with globalist ideals are pushing agendas such as free trade for their own interests without regard to the lives of ordinary Americans， leading to the growing decline of the United States. Fourth， they are against groups such as feminists， homosexuals， transgenders and Jewish people， believing that these groups undermine the social stability and order valued by the conservatives.

Compared with traditional conservative and right-wing forces， the far-right political movements have the following distinctive features： first， they advocate violent and paramilitary means to realize their political demands. Some far-right organizations， such as the Boogaloo Movement， have explicitly stated their intention to prepare for civil war and the overthrow of the Government. Second， they represent a product of American identity politics and a manifestation of the culture war， with a distinct social and psychological foundation. The far-right forces believe that in the past few decades， the left-wing forces in the United States have been growing， and conservatism has not responded well to the anti-abortion， anti-gay and other issues. On top of this， with the significant increase in Latinos， Asians and other foreign immigrants， the U.S. demographics and social structure is facing a challenge of “Great Replacement”， which will fundamentally change the way of life dominated by U.S. white people and white culture， hence the need to take radical means to defend the “white nation”. Third， they promote various conspiracy theories such as “Jewish mobs control the world”.

The Trump administration saw a rise in far-right political movements in the United States and the extreme violence they brought. Organizations such as the Proud Boys carried out a series of violent acts during the Black Lives Matter movement and the 2020 presidential election. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has uncovered a plot to kidnap Michigan’s Democratic governor， Gretchen Whitmer， and violently overthrow the state government. People involved in the case were all from far-right organizations， some of whom were even former Marines.