Generation Identitær: Between the Domestic National-Conservative Scene and the Transnational New Right

In May 2018, the Danish Generation Identitær became a member of the transnational new right network Generation Identity (GI). Since then, the group has participated in transnational GI activities, while simultaneously trying to embed itself in the Danish far right scene. It has organized several protests across the country, especially in the largest cities, drawing on the same protest tactics as its European GI allies. Due to the relatively new development of far-right transnational organizational diffusion (as also exemplified by PEGIDA and the Nordic Resistance Movement), there is a lack of scholarly exploration of these groups’ strategies in terms of accommodating both the domestic and transnational far right links and expectations. Focusing on Generation Identitær, this paper investigates how a newly established extra-parliamentary far right group, which draws on organizational and strategical frameworks developed abroad, arises, develops, and seeks embeddedness in the domestic far right scene, while also aligning itself with its transnational namesakes. Employing the concepts of political and discursive opportunity structures, the analysis focuses on the group’s protest actions and relations with domestic and European allies, as collected through a protest event analysis. It is the ultimate aim to gain a better understanding of Generation Identitær’s strategies in terms of balancing its New Right European relations with the worldview and mobilization focus of the domestic far right scene. Simultaneously, the analysis will also provide more knowledge about the current developments on the Danish far right extra-parliamentary scene, a topic receiving rather limited scholarly attention so far.