Ethnographies of the Right-Wing Continuum in the Global South: Strategic Positionality, Intersectionality and Power Relations

How can ethnography help political scientists and political sociologists to advance the scholarship on the radical right, and what specific challenges can we face when embracing it? Focusing on positionality, this paper explores some of the challenges of conducting ethnographic fieldwork with right-wing and far-right male LGBTI+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex people, as well as all other sexual orientations, gender identities, and expressions) activists in Brazil – a society characterised by complex racial dynamics – from the perspective of a male, non-white and non-heterosexual researcher based at a European academic institution. The aim is to foster a more in-depth discussion of power relations in the fieldwork and how to incorporate this discussion into our analysis. In this sense, the paper questions the assumption that racial difference inevitably hinders such fieldwork for non-white ethnographers and challenges the notion of ethnonationalism as a universal feature of the radical right. Instead, it argues that in Global South contexts, non-ethnic forms of nationalism create distinct, intersectional pathways to field access. To navigate these, the article suggests the strategic mobilisation of visible (gender, sexuality and race) and invisible (social, cultural and mobility capital) ethnographic tools to negotiate acceptance and presence in the field. The findings illuminate the relational and intersectional power dynamics shaping encounters with right-wing and far-right activists and underscore the methodological and interpretative value of ethnographic research for studying the radical right.