New Exchange: Fortress Fascism, Border Authoritarianism and Activist Struggles

We are happy to share the recording of the conversation “Fortress Fascism: Border Authoritarianism and Activist Struggles”, co-organized by the research project Emergencies of Authoritarianism and the CritUP network. In this exchange, panelists Nandita Sharma, Silky Shah, Mahamat Daoud, and Seán Binder—moderated by Esme Smithson Swain—investigate the rise of what has been coined “Fortress Fascism.” They retrace the fascist tendencies inherent in the border regimes of nation-states, discuss continuities and discontinuities between neoliberal and fascist border militarization, and delve into questions such as how the rise of border authoritarianism has affected their respective work as activists and scholars, the conditions that enable its rise, the affects and emotions it mobilizes, as well as possible strategies of resistance. The event took place on December 1, 2025.