Research candidate

Joseph Parro

Research topic 

Australian fascism 1945-now: Narrative of nation, race, politics, and violence

Joseph’s thesis explores the Far Right in Australia in the decades following the end of the Second World War. It examines activists who took part in the interwar transnational fascist movement and who remained active in the Far Right after 1945, as well as younger generations of activists who emerged in the following decades. It investigates how these activists engaged with the legacies of German Nazism and Italian Fascism, their own political (and, frequently, social) marginalisation, the political dynamics of the Cold War, the increasingly transnational nature of Far Right networks, and the shift from 'White' to ‘multicultural’ Australia. The aim of this thesis is to increase understanding about the impact of historical fascism on the post-war Australian Far Right, Australian Far Right ideology itself, and marginal political activism more broadly. 

Supervisory team

Principal supervisor: Professor Bryan Turner 
Co-supervisor: Professor Joy Damousi