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Lessons for American Conservatives from Austria's Martin Sellner

Lessons for American Conservatives from Austria's Martin Sellner

America's conservative youth movements would do well to look at young nationalist and new right activist Martin Sellner.
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By: Bertram Saltonstall đť•Ź | 06/04/2024

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The American right is divided into a few camps. While these groups interact within the electoral process, they rarely engage outside their spheres. To simplify the vast assortment of ideologies and groups on the right, I want to briefly focus on three groups that are firmly on the right of the GOP.

The first is the intellectual right, consisting of various motivations, but all interested in involving both the classics and more modern right-wing thoughts to explain the problems of our age. Figures such as Nietzsche, Spengler, and Heidegger, as well as the ancient Greek and Roman philosophers, fill the footnotes produced by the intellectual right. Few read these books–––and the authors themself might not even read the primary sources–––but they are a large part of the Twitter output surrounding this group.

The second is the tech-optimist right. They primarily use social media to advance their message and focus on issues such as AI, blockchain, and more niche concerns such as biohacking. Unfortunately, parts of this group are currently infiltrated, but the wealth and ability to create new revolutionary technologies need to be captured by the right. Look no further than the free speech developments since Elon Musk bought Twitter to see the enormous effect these players can have if they are oriented correctly.

The final group is the MAGA and America First Republicans, who are mainly involved in political and social media spheres. They are much more invested in the Realpolitik of the political process. They include most of the political commentators who try to affect mass public opinion in the direction of the America First movement.

Each group ultimately fails in its avoidance of the other camps. The populists lack rigorous intellectual engagement, the intellectuals lack electoral involvement and are often skeptical of tech optimism, and the tech camp avoids both as they build their companies. An organic synthesis has yet to happen in the US and to do this, we can look to Europe as an example.

Martin Sellner is an Austrian political activist who has recently gained media attention for his presence at a gathering of right-wing German politicians of the party Alternative fĂĽr Deutschland (AfD). Sellner draws upon the German philosophical tradition in his writing, producing online content about his movement’s public demonstrations. He also engages in electoral politics through European populist parties such as the AfD or the Freheitliche Partei Östereich (FPÖ). He engages with the intellectual debate of the right publicly not only to demonstrate a level of education but also to provide a philosophical framework with which political action can be founded. He makes it clear he is intellectually involved, having written multiple books. Yet, he also engages with mass politics of the day, recently reposting Ausländer Raus clips on his–––newly reinstated–––Twitter. Our leaders must learn to connect to all relevant groups, including both the intellectual and technocratic elite as well as the masses.

The American right can also learn from how he lays out specific policies in a feasible manner. In his book Remigration, Sellner lays out a clear plan for solving the identity crisis of the West. Devoid of useless rhetoric, it recognizes the required pragmatic steps while remaining optimistic that it can be done within the present political system. Instead of dealing with the immigrant population as a monolith, Sellner separates immigrants into three classes: Asylum Seekers, other foreigners, and non-assimilated citizens. Chipping away at the problem in steps is more effective than strong rhetoric and no change. In his most famous book, Regime Change von rechts, Sellner outlines the issues with the current tactics of the right and proposes a new vision consisting of strategic activism and metapolitical examination. With targeted activism and media promulgation, he believes the right would be able to claim sectors of the population previously opposed to our message.

While the European New Right lacks the American zeal for political party infiltration, its tactics are nevertheless beneficial to our current situation–––perhaps even more once Trump has passed the torch. Martin Sellner's political life is intellectual, online, and in the streets. To take back our country requires the sum of all our efforts, and we must involve each camp in our attempt to reclaim our homeland.