Temporalities of the Far Right
L’extrême droite et le temps (Temporex)
Turning-Points and Perceptions of the Past in Germany, France and Western Europe since 1945
Césures historiques et perceptions du passé en Allemagne, en France et en Europe occidentale depuis 1945
Published on Monday, March 23, 2026
Abstract
The conference aims to examine the far right’s relationship with time from a Franco-German and European perspective. It is divided into two parts: the first explores possible periodizations for this political movement after 1945, and the second examines its ideological and discursive relationship with time.
Announcement
Argument
This conference will examine the periodization of the radical right and its perception of the past from a transnational perspective. Case studies on French- and German-speaking worlds are particularly welcome, but other areas of focus are also possible, namely European spaces with global interconnections. Our conference is structured around two main concerns.
The first line of enquiry assesses possible periodizations of the history of the far right after 1945. German historians and political scientists tend to divide this history into decades: the 1950s are commonly identified as years of political marginality, the 1960s as a period of resurgence in the context of economic crisis and cultural anti-modernism, the 1970s as years of radical network formation, the 1980s as phase of expansion of violence and racism and the 1990s as a period of nationalisms in the context of the German unity and an explosion of extremist violence. While this decade-based periodization broadly reflects the general development of the far right in the Federal Republic of Germany, we believe a more refined and precise temporal framework is possible. For this reason, the conference will place particular emphasis on turning points (days, months, or years) that participants will be asked to identify and justify. These moments, which are often difficult to delineate, may include ruptures, key events and developments, the publication of major works, the founding of organizations or parties, or phases of intensified nationalist activism. They should also take into account “downtimes” and “desert crossings”: periods of retreat, decline, or reflux during which the far right exists only in a subterranean or marginal form.
The focus will be on Germany, France, and Western Europe in its global ramifications, with the intention of examining the relationships between different countries and regions as well as their interconnected histories. Do the French, Belgian, Swiss, Austrian, and German far right for instance share common moments, dynamics, and ruptures? How can we conduct a nuanced comparison of these complex political constellations after 1945? While these highly heterogeneous political families have undeniable “national” singularities (ideological traditions, historical legacies, actors, etc.), it is nevertheless possible to identify, for the period after 1945, effects of mimicry and ideological and/or activist convergences that crystallized through the transfer of ideas or collaborations between post-fascist actors in the Franco-German space. This conference will provide an opportunity to trace them.
The second line of enquiry examines the far right’s relationship to time from a more ideological and discursive perspective. We want to analyze the narratives mobilized by far-right actors at different historical moments (from 1945 to the present) concerning the past, the present, and possible futures. We will pay particular attention to how far-right actors appropriate and narrate their own history—whether individual, partisan, or collective—from the margins of the social and political order. The conference will then analyze their narratives of national and European histories, which often present themselves as “alternative” and reductive and are grounded in specific mythologies and imaginaries (myths, reference figures, historical events, etc.). These imaginaries form the foundation of their worldview; they structure partisan memory as well as narratives of the past (“glorious”), the present (“decadent”), and the future (either apocalyptic or utopian). These representations are shaped by emotions and their rejection, which can create bonds beyond borders, whether physical borders or those between historical periods. Moreover, the passage of time confronts the far right with an insurmountable dilemma: while exalting permanence and the immutability of the social order and traditions in the face of perceived threats of change, the far right is also aware that its survival depends on adapting its ideas, structures, and modes of mobilization to the present. We will therefore critically examine this ambivalent and ambiguous relationship to modernity.
Thus, TEMPOREX aims to renew scholarship on the European far right by re-examining its post-1945 history and by analyzing its discourse on time from a transnational perspective.
The conference will begin on the evening of 18 November with a public roundtable discussion featuring French and German historians and political scientists.
The evening of 19 November will be devoted to archives: Archiving the Far Right: Temporalities, Periodization, and Memory.
We invite submissions for paper proposals in English or French. Contributions may address, but are not limited to, the following questions:
- What are the key turning points (events, short sequences, symbolic or organizational ruptures) that allow us to rethink the periodization of the far right after 1945 beyond traditional decade-based frameworks?
- How can the history of the far right be written beyond moments of rupture? How can a long-term perspective on the far right be developed in contrast to the caesurae of “grand history”? To what extent do the temporal trajectories of the far right exhibit synchronies, divergences, or shared ruptures?
- How can “downtimes”—phases of retreat, marginalization, or latency of the far right—be identified, documented, and analyzed, and what role do they play in its subsequent reconfiguration?
- Turning points in the history of the far right as moments of shift or inflection: although less visible or less well known, these moments are nonetheless crucial, as they make it possible to grasp temporalities, continuities, and changes specific to the far right and to render tangible phases that have so far been overlooked. These may include significant events and developments, the publication of major works, the founding of organizations or parties, or moments of intensified nationalist activism.
- How do far-right actors construct narratives about their own pasts (individual, partisan, generational), and how do these narratives evolve over time? Which lieux de mémoire of a Franco-German or European far right structure cross-border narratives?
- Which myths, figures, events, or reference temporalities structure far-right political and memorial imaginaries, and how do these references circulate in transnational spaces?
- Diagnosis of the present and future perspectives of the far right: how are discourses on possible futures (apocalyptic or utopian) articulated within strategies of mobilization?
- How do the myth of a founding defeat and the projection of a future revenge durably shape the political cultures and horizons of expectation of the far right in France and Germany?
- To what extent does the far right’s relationship to time reveal its central dilemma between the exaltation of permanence, tradition, and immutability and the necessity of adapting to contemporary social, political, and technological transformations?
Submission guidelines
The working languages of the conference will be English and French. Early-career researchers (postdoctoral researchers, PhD candidates, and, where appropriate, master’s students) are strongly encouraged to submit a proposal.
Proposals (2,500 characters) accompanied by a CV (one page) should be sent to the following address: temporalities(at)zzf-potsdam.de,
by 30 April 2026
Organising committee
- Valérie Dubslaff, Université Rennes 2/Institut Universitaire de France
- Marie Müller-Zetzsche, Moses Mendelssohn Zentrum für europäisch-jüdische Studien, Potsdam
- Dominik Rigoll, Leibniz-Zentrum für Zeithistorische Forschung, Potsdam
- Zeithistorischer Arbeitskreis extreme Rechte (ZAER)
Subjects
- History (Main category)
- Society > Political studies > Political history
- Periods > Modern
- Zones and regions > Europe
- Society > Political studies > Political and social movements
- Mind and language > Epistemology and methodology > Historiography
- Mind and language > Epistemology and methodology > Corpus approaches, surveys, archives
Places
- Université Rennes 2 - campus Villejean - Place Recteur Henri Le Moal
Rennes, France (35)
Event attendance modalities
Full on-site event
Date(s)
- Thursday, April 30, 2026
Attached files
Keywords
- temps extrême droite périodisation passé futur temporalités
Contact(s)
- Valérie Dubslaff
courriel : valerie [dot] dubslaff [at] univ-rennes2 [dot] fr
Information source
- Valérie Dubslaff
courriel : valerie [dot] dubslaff [at] univ-rennes2 [dot] fr
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« Temporalities of the Far Right », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Monday, March 23, 2026, https://doi.org/10.58079/15xbd
