Graduation Year

2018

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Politics and International Relations

Reader 1

Mark Golub

Reader 2

Charles Kesler

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Terms of Use for work posted in Scholarship@Claremont.

Rights Information

© 2017 Isabella S. Mann

Abstract

In the calendar year since the election of President Donald J. Trump, there has been a marked intensification of activist demonstrations that have permeated mainstream American culture. Roughly one century after its inception, a group of powerful, semi-underground activists and organizers have resurrected a radical social movement called the Antifa network. Antifa, which is short for anti-fascist, originated in early 20th century Germany, Italy and Spain. The group has now been reborn in response to what Antifa members have identified as a strong and dangerous wave of fascist mentality in American politics. They will not rest until they have succeeded in suppressing and defeating every inkling of fascist sentiment from the American political landscape, regardless of what they must do to accomplish that goal.

This thesis examines the intentions, motivations and actions of Antifa by dissecting what they are, who they are, and how they work. I will provide a brief history of the movement in its various recorded forms—both in the United States and Europe. In addition to examining the stated goals and behaviors of the movement, I will assess and evaluate Antifa’s ideology by analyzing several key pieces of writing from their resource archives. Primarily, my goal is to determine the ideological legitimacy of Antifa’s efforts against those they have deemed fascist, and the legitimacy of the claims that it is members of Antifa who are the real perpetrators of fascist action in the United States.

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This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.

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