The Political Science Shelf

Illiberal Vanguard
Alexandar Mihailovic
University of Wisconsin Press
728 State Street, Suite 443, Madison, WI 53706-1418
www.uwpress.wisc.edu
9780299340506, $79.95, HC, 240pp

https://www.amazon.com/Illiberal-Vanguard-Populist-Elitism-United/dp/029934= 0503

Synopsis: Recent years have witnessed a growing affinity between increasing=
ly radicalized right-wing movements in the United States and Russia, countr= ies that only recently viewed each other as intractable foes.

With the publication of " Illiberal Vanguard: Populist Elitism in the Unite=
d States and Russia", Professor Alexandar Mihailovic untangles this conflue= nce, considering ethnonationalist movements in both countries and their par= allel approaches to gender, race, and performative identity. Rather than pr= obe specific points of possible contact or political collusion, Professor M= ihailovic unveils the mirrored styles of thought that characterize far-righ=
t elitism in two erstwhile enemy nations.

Professor Mihailovic investigates notable right-wing actors like Steve Bann=
on and Alexander Dugin and targets of right-wing ire such as globalization,=
LGBTQ+ activism, and mobilizations to remove controversial statues (that h= onor Confederate generals and Soviet leaders, for instance), but the argume=
nt extends beyond the specifics.

How and why are radical right-wing movements developing along such similar = trajectories in two nominally oppositional countries? How do religious sect= arianism, the construction of whiteness, and institutionalized homophobia s= upport each other in this transnational, informal, but powerful allegiance?

Despite their appeals to populism and flamboyant theatrics, Professor Mihai= lovic argues, much of the answer can be found in the mutual desire to justi=
fy and organize an illiberal vanguard of elite intellectuals, one that supp= orts and advocates for a new authoritarianism.

Critique: A seminal, informative, and impressively insight work of meticulo=
us and deftly scripted, organized and presented scholarship, "Illiberal Van= guard: Populist Elitism in the United States and Russia" is a timely contri= bution to our understanding of the current political turmoil and polarity o=
f American politics -- including the dramatic changes within the Republican=
Party. Informatively enhanced with the inclusion of a two page listing of = Acknowledgments, twenty pages of Notes, a twenty-two page bibliography of W= orks Cited, and a twenty-one page Index, "Illiberal Vanguard: Populist Elit= ism in the United States and Russia" is a critically important and highly r= ecommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and univ= ersity library Contemporary Political Science, Fascism, and US/Russian Rela= tions collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: Alexandar Mihailovic is Professor Emeritus of Comparative L= iterature and Russian at Hofstra University and visiting professor at Benni= ngton College. His books include The Mitki and the Art of Postmodern Protes=
t in Russia, Corporeal Words: Mikhail Bakhtin's Theology of Discourse, and =
an edited volume, Tchaikovsky and His Contemporaries: A Centenary Symposium=
.. (https://www.bennington.edu/academics/faculty/alexandar-mihailovic)

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