AbstractsPolitical Science

Abstract

This thesis presents the first academic study of the Russian right-wing thinker Aleksandr Dugin‘s Fourth Political Theory (4PT). By mapping out the ideological undercurrents of Dugin‘s thinking, this delineation of 4PT seeks to capture the essence of Dugin‘s paramount vision for the future. Formulated as an attempt to establish a new political ideology that transcends and moves beyond the old patterns of Fascism, Communism and Liberalism, 4PT endeavor a conservative post-modernity. To address this simultaneously retrospective and futuristic vista, three pre-formulated dimensions are set forth as categories for analysis: (1) end-of-ideology, (2) end-of-history and (3) end-of-politics. The hypothesis is that Dugin‘s response to these popular claims encapsulates much of the underlying reasoning for his ideas, with Francis Fukuyama‘s famous end-of-history being especially relevant as an indirect instigator for 4PT. Overall, this thesis establishes a new platform for studying anti-liberal and anti-modern ideas that are often attached to the Nouvelle Droite (New Right) school of political thought.