ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the work of four intellectuals in France who, despite their different political origins, are creating and propagating a common set of ideas and discourses that inspire right-wing Identitarian movements and undermine liberal-democratic values. These intellectuals come from different ends of the political spectrum. These intellectuals may not often be categorized together, but they are contributing to a common set of illiberal discourses that have a long history on the extreme right: The trope of “the Real,” resentment of repression by mainstream liberal-democratic ideology, opposition to universalism and egalitarianism, and protection of French and European identity against the incursion of liberal values like multiculturalism, civic nationalism, and religious toleration. Within these tropes, these far-right intellectuals argue that immigration is creating an untenable reality that threatens France as a culture, a civilization, a race—in short, the identity of the French people. These intellectuals’ ideas about identity, and exclusion from it, have laid the foundation for new generations of Identitarian activists and have helped to normalize and legitimize their extremist views—views that are gaining increasing traction in the general public and pose a real threat to liberal democracy.
