A leading political philosopher dissects the global far right’s appeal through the lens of Bolsonarismo, tracing its roots to the social disintegration caused by the crisis of neoliberalism and looming climate change
For four years, Jair Bolsonaro led Brazil and the popular, far-right movement that bore his name. His rise, defeat, and the chaos he left in his wake reflect patterns that are playing out in several countries, from the US to Argentina to India. In Anatomy of Disintegration, Rodrigo Nunes uses Brazil as a point of departure to make sense of why the far right is on the rise all over the world, where its appeal comes from, and explain the dystopian horizon it is moving toward.
Through sharp, original analyses of the social composition of its supporters, the material and affective conditions that underpin it, and the mainstream’s inability to respond to it, Rodrigo Nunes argues that the contemporary far right is better understood not as an effort to block but as an attempt to harness and accelerate forces of social disintegration set in motion by capital and intensified by the crisis of neoliberalism.
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"In his razor-sharp analysis of Bolsonarismo, Rodrigo Nunes builds a globally relevant perspective on the far right from the point of view of the periphery. At once sobering and entertaining, I can think of few other works that so astutely and bracingly illuminate the challenges before us. A must-read."
–Melinda Cooper, author of Family Values: Between Neoliberalism and the New Social Conservatis
"Toggling between Brazil, the United States, and the world, this illuminating book provides an original and insightful analysis of the many facets of contemporary far-right movements, demonstrating how and why it has become a global phenomenon."
–Michael Hardt, author of Empire and Multitude
"Undoubtedly one of the most valuable contribution to the ongoing effort to understand fascism in its contemporary configuration."
–Suely Rolnik, author of Molecular Revolution in Brazil
"Anatomy of Disintegration offers the sharpest analysis of what empowers the far-right in our current media environment. By looking at these issues from the South, from the particular case of Brazilian politics, it uncovers many features of what most of us encounter, but often fail to identify, within our more familiar Northern political stages. Its clarity and depth of conceptualisation, putting affective infrastructures at the core of the problems, brings precious help for progressive movements to redefine new (and better) strategies in front of very alarming threats."
–Yves Citton, author of The Ecology of Attention and Mediarchy