New research may increase understanding of why young men are drawn to right-wing extremism
Maria Darwish’s research shows that the far right attracts followers with images of beautiful landscapes and cute animals, such as kittens and Moomin characters.
Right-wing extremism online is not only about hate, anger and violence. It can also attract people through experiences in nature and a sense of community and purpose. In a new doctoral thesis at Örebro University, Maria Darwish shows how positive emotions are used in ecofascist communication.
“The hateful and overtly violent elements of the movement often receive the most attention. But it is at least as important to understand how ideas of care and love function as driving forces,” says Maria Darwish, a researcher in gender studies at Örebro University.
In her doctoral thesis, Gender, nature and ‘positive’ affect. A study of visual communication in Nordic digital ecofascism, she examines digital ecofascism, where far-right nationalism is combined with ideas about nature and the environment.
The study is based on four years of observation of Nordic radical nationalist online communities. It draws on 11,107 images from 41 ecofascist Telegram channels, collected between 2020 and 2025.
A different image of the far-right man
Previous research on far-right mobilisation has often focused on emotions such as anger, fear and hatred. However, Maria Darwish found a large number of images with a very different tone: beautiful landscapes, cute animals, families, and people living close to nature.
She was particularly surprised by the images of men.
“I had not expected to find so much space for calm and contemplative portrayals of masculinity in particular, in an ideology that is otherwise associated with hypermasculinity, aggression and violence.”
A recurring motif is what Maria Darwish and her co-author Lucas Gottzén call “the contemplative man”: white men who are hiking, sitting by a fire, or gazing out over a landscape. The man is depicted as calm, nature-loving, and caring, while at the same time being presented as a protector of his people and territory.
Extreme ideas become part of everyday life
The doctoral thesis also shows how familiar and widely appreciated themes such as outdoor recreation, motherhood, and animals are combined with fascist symbols. In this way, extremist ideas can become associated with things that are already perceived as safe and positive.
“Gender functions as a kind of emotional glue. The images help tie feelings of belonging, care, and protection to the idea of an ethnic nation state, making it appear personal and natural rather than political,” says Maria Darwish.
These positive portrayals also offer different roles for people to identify with, such as the woman as a life-giver or the man as a nature-loving and caring protector.
Need to be able to recognise more than hate
Maria Darwish believes the findings can contribute to a better understanding of the appeal of the far right, particularly among young men. This knowledge may be useful for schools, government agencies, and organisations working to prevent violence and strengthen digital literacy.
“Positive visions of the future and utopian ideals play a central role in the far right’s self-image. We need to be able to recognise extremism even when it does not appear in the form of explicit hate,” she says.
Ecofascism as a concept
There is no single, universally accepted definition of ecofascism in academic research. In this doctoral thesis, it is described as a spectrum of ideas rather than a clearly defined ideology. These ideas are primarily found on the far right's social media platforms and are based on the belief that a particular people belongs to a particular territory. In its most extreme form, ecofascism combines a love of nature with racism and violence.
Read the doctoral thesis here: Gender, nature, and ‘positive’ affect: A study of visual communication in Nordic digital ecofascism.
Text: Anna Lorentzon
Photo: Anna Lorentzon
Translation: Charlotta Hambre-Knight