Weaponised Pluralism

Weaponised pluralism takes a fine-grained lens to understand why far-right organisations recruit from the very minorities they oppose. Why do these organisations seek to appear like pluralists? Building on his time with the Muslim wing of the Hindu far-right in India, Felix Pal proposes that bigots can strategically use what he calls weaponised pluralism. This political strategy counterintuitively uses progressive political performances to bolster bigoted political agendas. Basing his analysis in an Indian context, Weaponised pluralism nonetheless reveals much about contexts as varied as Palestinian soldiers in the Israeli army, Indigenous Australians on far-right television, and Black congressional candidates in the American Republican Party. Drawing on rare access to the Hindu far-right and its Muslim wing, Pal paints an evocative picture of the complexities of how far-right organising extends far beyond the pointy end of traditional bigotry.