The nationalized family Right-wing extremist family policies, taking the Identitarians as an example

Right-wing extremist policies often refer to agendas of family policy. From the declining birth rate of the autochthonous population to migrant as well as LGBTIQ+ families as a threat to the nation – the societal disourses on family have been shaped by the extreme right during the past decades. (Abbott & Wallace, 1992; Albanese, 2006) This does not seem surprising as this approach brings numerous advantages for the far right. Using demographic developments as their key point, they were able not only to address topics of social, family, women’s and reproduction policy, but also to link these with questions of migration on the one hand and with gender relations on the other. Starting point of this paper is a reconstruction of the key argumentation patterns the extreme right in the German-speaking countries use for supporting their family policies. It will then continue with an analysis of relevant narratives and trace familism in right wing extremist thinking, taking the farright group of ‘Identitarians’ as an example. Within the framework of a critical discourse analysis (Jäger, 2012), I will investigate how the Identitarians have updated the key argumentation patterns of far-right family policies and which role gender-specific aspects have played in this context. While men are supposed to avert the ‘exchange of populations’ by being valiant and combative, women should play their part by having more children. This Identitarian promotion of pronatalistic, nativist and family-centered policies hides their fear of societal change and their desire for upholding existing orders.