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The ability to politically connect with others, share insights and engage in public discourse with people you agree and disagree with is one of the beauties of democracy. It’s what keeps a functioning and healthy society alive.
However, the more I think about the state of political discourse here in Australia and throughout the world, the more fearful I am for the physical security and inner workings of nations.
As the iron grip of people, parties and movements continues to tighten when political discussions come up, it indicates to me that mob mentality and identity politics are the real threats to national safety and security, specifically on the right.
Identity politics in Australia
The concept of identity politics was born out of the real, tangible exclusions that social groups experienced in the face of legislation, institutions and social systems being built with exclusion baked in.
Until the introduction of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, women in Australia did not have explicit protection against gender discrimination enshrined in legislation; marriage equality for same-sex couples was not granted until 2017 and Indigenous Australians still face an ongoing battle for true equality.
Conservatives and the right-wing have historically been opposed to identity politics, saying its focus on certain social groups can cause exclusion for others. However, in an era where a woman is killed every week by someone close to her, three in four non-binary people will self-harm in their lifetime and racism against culturally diverse groups is continuing to rise, this position is void.
Protecting the threatened rights of under-represented people is not a cause for division.
What is divisive (and tangibly dangerous) is the quiet mobilisation of everyday people against each other, propelled by the words of politicians and public personalities who have a flair for fascism.
Trump, influencers, and populism
As most discussions of political identity tend to circle back to these days, US President Donald Trump’s increasingly volatile, populist language towards his opponents, specifically in the 2024 election, was (and remains) a clear indication of the changing ways conservatives use a collective “us and them” style of language to push their points and fall into their own guise of identity politics.
Campaign taglines like “Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you” is one of many political statements in the overflowing cannon of Trump’s divisive, separationist language that may not seem overly damaging, but in such a hostile political environment like what we are seeing the US, it’s this kind of talk that gets the societal disunity brewing.
But it’s 2026, and Trump can’t get through to everyone. Fox News is a joke, Tucker Carlson’s smugness got old in 2016 and MAGA is mostly dead.
This is where social media comes in.
Young people are looking online for their political information, and no one is more prolific in conservative spheres than Nick Fuentes who is currently on a self-proclaimed “generational run” of popularity.
Though he claims that he doesn’t actually hate anyone despite his omnipresent labelling as a white-supremacist, misogynist, holocaust denier and racist, to name a few, his reckless language to a young and impressionable audience is dangerous and irresponsible.
The populist models conservatives are supporting through people like Fuentes and Trump represent everything they stand against, collectivising their identity.
The physical threat that lies in this for national security is the growing weaponisation of collective opinion and the use of identity as a justification for hatred and contempt for others – look at last week on the streets of Minneapolis or five years back at the US Capitol.
To say that the threat of opinion-based violence begins with conservatives is low is simply false.
Australia’s threat
America is the foundation for the rest of the world, with these trends being clearly reflected on our shores.
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation’s (ASIO) annual threat assessments has continued to highlight right-wing extremism as a real threat, especially regarding young people, with over 15 per cent of ASIO’s counter-terrorism investigations involving minors.
In ASIO’s assessment for 2025, Mike Burgess emphasised the growth and trends of right-wing extremism in Australia, saying: “The most obvious trend is that the young are getting younger … our minors caseload is overwhelmingly male, around 85 per cent.”
“It is also overwhelmingly Australian-born.
“If technology continues its current trajectory, it will be easier to find extremist material and AI-fuelled algorithms will make it easier for extremist material to find vulnerable adolescent minds that are searching for meaning and connection.”
Final thoughts
Having the freedom to hold diverse political views, hold fair and balanced discourse, and engage civilly with people you disagree with without the threat of violence is one of the best things about living in a democratic nation.
However, the rise of ideologically motivated extremism among those with right-wing political stances both at home and abroad is directly threatening these freedoms.
As technology, social media and influencers continue to play a major role in the presentation of the world around us, the growing trend towards hostility and hatred from those on the political right is and should remain a cause of concern for our nation.
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