Genealogies of Antifascism: Militancy, Critique, and the Three Way Fight

Learning from the past to build a revolutionary antifascism for the present and future.

Genealogies of Antifascism is a collection of essays written by D.Z. Shaw between January 2020 and the fall of 2023, focusing on the themes of fascism and antifascism in the context of shifting socio-political landscapes in North America. These essays are a response to both contemporary events and a growing body of literature on militant antifascism, reflecting on incidents such as the anti-police uprisings in 2020, the electoral defeat of Donald Trump, and subsequent political upheavals including the far-right putsch of January 6, 2021, as well as reviewing current perspectives in light of past experiences and theorizations, from Georgi Dimitrov, W.E.B. Du Bois, and the Black Panther Party, to contemporary revolutionary thinkers such as J. Sakai, Butch Lee, and Don Hamerquist.

Aimed at a politically committed activist audience, Shaw provides a snapshot of an evolving philosophy of antifascism that grapples with the theoretical and practical challenges presented both by recent events and by the historical foundations of North America’s settler societies. In Part I, Shaw establishes the theoretical parameters necessary to understand and combat fascism, critiquing traditional Marxist frameworks and putting forth a detailed interpretation of the ＂three way fight＂ approach, one that situates the struggle against both capitalism and the far right in the North American context. In Part II, Shaw offers commentary on the work of other antifascist theorists, addressing specific topics including militant feminist antifascism, the problems with liberalism, and historical analyses of anti-Nazi resistance in Germany. The third and final part features a previously unpublished essay critically analyzing Judith Butler’s stance on nonviolence and defending the practice of emancipatory community self-defense.

Throughout, Genealogies defends militant antifascism against its liberal counterpart, arguing for a form of community self-defense that goes beyond ＂common sense＂ understandings of the term. Shaw advocates for an antifascism that is alert to the complexities of fighting fascism in a North American context, highlighting the intersections of class, race, gender, and settler colonialism. The book not only offers a critical perspective on the current state of antifascist movements but also seeks to push the theoretical boundaries of antifascism beyond its existing paradigms, suggesting new directions for understanding and combating the far right today.

With a Preface by Michael Staudenmaier.