Fascisation and Counter-Strategies: Critical Perspectives on Contemporary Political Violence

Contemporary societies are undergoing a qualitative shift in the nature of political power. The social sciences have developed a consolidated repertoire of concepts to analyse authoritarian transformations — authoritarian neoliberalism, democratic backsliding, new far-right movements — yet the current conjuncture exceeds these frameworks.

From US military interventions in Venezuela and Iran to the genocide in Palestine, from Nayib Bukele's punitive spectacle to Europe's dehumanizing border regime and militarization: violence is embraced and legitimized. It no longer operates as a side-effect of the political order but as one of its constitutive dimensions.

The exercise and performance of violence itself is becoming a mode to govern, to construct political belonging, and to manage the crisis of social reproduction — a trend that concepts such as fascisation, necropolitics, or brutalism, try to address. This dramatically affects the possibilities and prospects for democratic politics —especially those from below—, and requires rethinking political strategies.

This panel proposes a double analytical wager. On one hand, it aims to interrogate the qualitative singularity of the present moment: are we facing a structural transformation of capitalism or a conjunctural dispositif for crisis management? On the other hand, we want to discuss the challenges and potential for contestation. We invite abstracts addressing counter-strategies, emancipatory imaginaries, and resistances.

This double orientation reflects our epistemological commitment: understanding the violent political conjuncture requires articulating critical analysis with a practical vocation for intervention. We thus welcome comparative, transnational, and case-study contributions, especially from the Global South.