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{{short description|Set of neo-fascist political ideologies}}
{{Distinguish|Third Way|Third camp|Third International|Third International Theory}}
{{About|the nationalist political ideology|the ballet position|Positions of the arms in ballet|playing technique on musical instruments|Position (music)}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2008}}
{{neo-fascism}}
{{Integralism}}

The '''Third Position''' is a set of [[neo-fascist]] political [[ideologies]] that were first described in Western Europe following the [[Second World War]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Griffin |first=Rogers |date=3 July 2023 |title=Fascism's new faces (and new facelessness) in the 'post-fascist' epoch |url=https://elibrary.utb.de/doi/abs/10.24216/FORUM-2023-1-9783838278674_004 |journal=Forum für osteuropäische Ideen- und Zeitgeschichte |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=45–92|doi=10.24216/FORUM-2023-1-9783838278674_004 |doi-broken-date=14 May 2025 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Shaffer |first=Ryan |date=23 January 2018 |title=Pan-European thought in British fascism: the International Third Position and the Alliance for Peace and Freedom |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0031322X.2017.1417191 |journal=Patterns of Prejudice |volume=52 |issue=1|pages=78–99 |doi=10.1080/0031322X.2017.1417191 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Spektorowski |first=Alberto |date=2003 |title=The New Right: Ethno-regionalism, ethno-pluralism and the emergence of a neo-fascist 'Third Way' |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13569310306084 |journal=Journal of Political Ideologies |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=111–130|doi=10.1080/13569310306084 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Developed in the context of the [[Cold War]], it developed its name through the claim that it represented a third position between the [[capitalism]] of the [[Western Bloc]] and the [[communism]] of the [[Eastern Bloc]].

== History ==

The term "Third Position" was coined in Europe and the main precursors of Third Position politics were [[Fascism in Italy|Italian fascism]], [[Legionarism]], [[Falangism]], [[Prussian socialism]], [[National Bolshevism]] (a synthesis of far-right [[ultranationalism]] and far-left [[Bolsheviks|Bolshevism]]) and [[Strasserism]] (a radical, mass-action, worker-based form of [[Nazism]], advocated by the "left-wing" of the [[Nazi Party]] by brothers [[Otto Strasser|Otto]] and [[Gregor Strasser]], until it was crushed in the [[Night of the Long Knives]] in 1934). [[Neo-fascist]], [[neo-Nazi]] author [[Francis Parker Yockey]] had proposed an alliance between [[Communism|communists]] and [[fascism|fascists]] called the [[red-brown alliance]] (red being the color of communism and brown being the color of Nazism). Yockey lent support to [[Third World]] liberation movements as well.

== Germany ==
{{Main|Querfront}}
{{see also|Third Way (Germany)}}
'''{{lang|de|Querfront}}''' ("cross-front") was the cooperation between [[Conservative Revolutionary movement|conservative revolutionaries]] in Germany with the [[Far-left politics|far-left]] during the [[Weimar Republic]] of the 1920s.

[[Ernst Niekisch]] and others tried to combine communist and [[anti-capitalism|anti-capitalist]] nationalist forces to overthrow the existing order of the Weimar Republic. He called this merger "[[National Bolshevism]]". During his early years in [[Nazi Party]] as {{lang|de|[[SS-Gauführer]]}}, Nazi leader [[Heinrich Himmler]] worked briefly as a deputy of [[Gregor Strasser]], then head of party propaganda department. Influenced heavily by [[Strasserism|Strasserist]] ideas, Himmler attacked [[capitalism]] and viewed socialism as "the natural economic system" during the 1920s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Longerich |first=Peter |title=Heinrich Himmler |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-19-959232-6 |location=New York, USA |pages=89–92 |chapter=5: The Party Functionary}}</ref> Germany's Chancellor, General [[Kurt von Schleicher]] (in office 1932–33), attempted to induce the more left-wing [[Strasserism|Strasserist]] segment of the Nazi Party to merge with the [[trade union]]s as way of forcing Hitler to support his government, but his plan failed.<ref>Turner, Henry Ashby ''Hitler's Thirty Days to Power'', New York: Addison-Wesley, 1996, pp. 24–29.</ref>

The term is also used today for mutual [[entryism]] or cooperation between left and right-wing groups. For example, at a Berlin peace rally on February 24, 2023, called by [[Sahra Wagenknecht]], at the time a leading figure of Germany's socialist [[The Left (Germany)|Left Party]], and feminist [[Alice Schwarzer]] in support of their manifesto calling for negotiations and stop of military support of Ukraine, far-right factions and pro-Russian supporters were in attendance.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hallam|first=Mark |date=2023-02-27 |title=Germany: Left Party, Wagenknecht clash after 'peace' rally |language=en |work=DW |url=https://www.dw.com/en/germany-left-party-wagenknecht-clash-after-peace-rally/a-64826659 |access-date=2023-02-28}}</ref>

== France ==
{{Main|Third Way (France)}}

During the 1930s and 1940s, a number of splinter groups from the [[Far-left politics|radical left]] became associated with [[radical nationalism]]. [[Jacques Doriot]]'s [[French Popular Party]] (from the [[French Communist Party]]) and [[Marcel Déat]]'s [[National Popular Rally]] (from the [[French Section of the Workers' International]]). Third Position ideology gained some support in France, where in 1985 [[Jean-Gilles Malliarakis]] set up a "Third Way" political party, [[Third Way (France)|Troisième Voie]] (TV). Considering its main enemies to be the United States, communism and [[Zionism]], the group advocated radical paths to national revolution. Associated for a time with the [[Groupe Union Défense]], TV was generally on poor terms with [[National Front (France)|Front National]] until 1991, when Malliarakis decided to approach them. As a result, TV fell apart and a radical splinter group under [[Christian Bouchet]], [[Nouvelle Résistance]], adopted National Bolshevik and then [[Eurasianism|Eurasianist]] views.<ref>{{Cite web|title=annuaire de l'extrême droite en France|url=https://www.france-politique.fr/annuaire-extreme-droite.htm#TV|access-date=2021-02-25|website=www.france-politique.fr}}</ref>

== Italy ==
{{Main|Terza Posizione}}

In Italy, the Third Position was developed by [[Roberto Fiore]], along with [[Gabriele Adinolfi]] and [[Giuseppe Dimitri|Peppe Dimitri]], in the tradition of Italian [[neo-fascism]]. Third Position's ideology is characterized by a [[militarism|militarist]] formulation, a [[palingenetic ultranationalism]] looking favourably to national [[liberation movement]]s, support for [[Racism|racial separatism]] and the adherence to a [[Political Soldier|soldier lifestyle]]. In order to construct a cultural background for the ideology, Fiore looked to the [[ruralism]] of [[Julius Evola]] and sought to combine it with the desire for a cultural-spiritual revolution. He adopted some of the positions of the contemporary [[Far-right politics|far-right]], notably the [[ethnopluralism]] of [[Alain de Benoist]] and the Europe-wide appeal associated with such views as the [[Europe a Nation]] campaign of [[Oswald Mosley]] (amongst others). Fiore was one of the founders of the Terza Posizione movement in 1978. Third Position ideas are now represented in Italy by [[Forza Nuova]], led by Fiore; and by the movement [[CasaPound]], a network of [[far-right social centres]].

== United Kingdom ==
{{multiple image
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| image1            = Nick griffin bnp from flickr user britishnationalism (cropped).jpg
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| image2            = Joseph Pearce speaking into a microphone.jpg
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| footer            = In 1983, the [[National Front (UK)|National Front]] was taken over by a Strasserist faction led by [[Nick Griffin]] (left) and [[Joe Pearce (National Front)|Joe Pearce]] (right), who presented themselves as Third Positionists.
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{{see also|Third Force (Northern Ireland)|Ulster Third Way|Third Way (UK organisation)}}
In the 1980s, the [[National Front (UK)|National Front]], a British fascist party that had experienced the height of its success in the 1970s, was taken over by a Strasserist faction that referred to themselves as Third Positionist.{{sfn|Sykes|2005|p=126}} The Strasserist-led National Front was also characterised by Baker as National Bolshevist in ideology.{{sfn|Baker|1985|p=30}} Reflecting the [[Nouvelle Droite]]'s influence,{{sfn|Eatwell|2003|p=341}} the Strasserist Official NF promoted support for "a broad front of racialists of all colours" who were seeking an end to multi-racial society and capitalism,{{sfn|Sykes|2005|p=126}} praising [[black nationalism|black nationalists]] like [[Louis Farrakhan]] and [[Marcus Garvey]].{{sfnm|1a1=Durham|1y=1995|1p=272|2a1=Eatwell|2y=2003|2p=341|3a1=Sykes|3y=2005|3pp=126–127}} Their publication, ''Nationalism Today'', featured positive articles on the governments of [[Libyan Arab Jamahiriya|Libya]] and [[Government of Islamic Republic of Iran|Iran]], presenting them as part of a global anti-capitalist and anti-Marxist third force in international politics;{{sfn|Sykes|2005|pp=126–127}} its members openly acknowledged the influence of Libyan leader [[Muammar Gaddafi]] and his [[Third International Theory]].{{sfn|Sykes|2005|pp=119—120}} This may have had tactical as well as ideological motivations, with Libya and Iran viewed as potential sources of funding.{{sfn|Eatwell|2003|p=341}} This new rhetoric and ideology alienated much of the party's rank-and-file membership.{{sfn|Sykes|2005|p=127}} It experienced internal problems, and in 1989 several of its senior members—Nick Griffin, [[Derek Holland (activist)|Derek Holland]], and Colin Todd—split from it to establish their [[International Third Position]] group.{{sfn|Sykes|2005|p=127}} One of its leaders was [[Roberto Fiore]], an ex-member of the Italian far-right movement [[Terza Posizione]].<ref name="Ryan">{{cite book|last= Ryan|first=Nick|title=Into a World of Hate: A Journey Among the Extreme Right|publisher=Routledge|year=2004|pages=62|isbn=0-415-94922-X|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wOq79eHTJu4C&q=%22International+Third+Position%22+neo-fascist&pg=PA62}}</ref>

== United States ==
In the United States, [[Political Research Associates]] argues that Third Position politics has been promoted by some [[white nationalism|white nationalist]] and [[Neo-Nazism|neo-Nazi]] groups such as the [[National Alliance (United States)|National Alliance]], [[American Front]], [[Traditionalist Worker Party]], [[Patriot Front]], and [[White Aryan Resistance]], as well as some [[black nationalism|black nationalist]] groups, such as the [[Nation of Islam]], since the late 20th century.<ref name="Berlet 1990-1999">{{cite web |author=Berlet, Chip |author-link=Chip Berlet |date=20 December 1990 |title=Right Woos Left: Populist Party, LaRouchite, and Other Neo-fascist Overtures To Progressives, And Why They Must Be Rejected |url=http://www.publiceye.org/rightwoo/rwooz9_TOC.html |publisher=Political Research Associates |access-date=2010-02-01 |quote=revised 4/15/1994, 3 corrections 1999}}</ref> In 2010, the American Third Position Party (later renamed [[American Freedom Party]]) was founded in part to channel the [[right-wing populism|right-wing populist]] resentment engendered by the [[2008 financial crisis]] and the policies of the [[Presidency of Barack Obama|Obama administration]].<ref name="SPLC 2010">{{cite journal|author=Southern Poverty Law Center |title=Prof Has New Job Running Racist Political Party: Academic Anti-Semitism |newspaper=Southern Poverty Law Center |date=Spring 2010 |url=http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2010/spring/psych-prof-has-new-job-running-racist |access-date=2010-04-28|author-link=Southern Poverty Law Center}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{div col}}
* {{annotated link|Anti-corporate activism}}
* {{annotated link|Antoun Saadeh}}
* {{annotated link|Brazilian Integralism}}
* {{annotated link|Corporatism}}
* {{annotated link|Ecofascism}}
* {{annotated link|Eurasianism}}
* {{annotated link|Getúlio Vargas|Getulism}}
* {{annotated link|MIÉP–Jobbik Third Way Alliance of Parties}}
* {{annotated link|National syndicalism}}
* {{annotated link|New antisemitism}}
* ''{{annotated link|Nouvelle Droite}}''
* {{annotated link|Pērkonkrusts}}
* {{annotated link|Peronism}}
* {{annotated link|Red–green–brown alliance}}
* {{annotated link|Revolutionary nationalism}}
* {{annotated link|Statism in Shōwa Japan}}
* {{annotated link|Syncretic politics}}
* ''{{annotated link|The Fourth Political Theory}}''
* {{annotated link|Third camp (Austria)}}
* ''{{annotated link|Third International Theory}}''

{{div col end}}

== References ==
'''Notes'''
{{Reflist}}

'''Bibliography'''
{{refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
* {{cite journal |first=David L. |last=Baker |year=1985 |title=A. K. Chesterton, the Strasser Brothers and the Politics of the National Front |journal=Patterns of Prejudice |volume=19 |number=3 |pages=23–33 |doi=10.1080/0031322X.1985.9969821 }}
* Cheles, L.; Ferguson, R.; and Vaughan, M. (1992) ''Neo-Fascism in Europe''. London: Longman.
* Cingolani, Giorgio (1996) ''La destra in armi''. [[Editori Riuniti]]. (in Italian).
* Copsey, N. (2004) ''Contemporary British Fascism: The British National Party and the Quest for Legitimacy''. Basingstoke: [[Palgrave Macmillan]].
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Durham |first=Martin |contribution=Women and the British Extreme Right |title=The Far Right in Western and Eastern Europe |editor=Luciano Cheles |editor2=Ronnie Ferguson |editor3=Michalina Vaughan |edition=second |orig-year=1991 |year=1995 |publisher=Longman Group |location=London and New York |isbn=9780582238817 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/farrightinwester00luci/page/272 272–289] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/farrightinwester00luci/page/272}}
* {{cite book |last=Eatwell |first=Roger |title=Fascism: A History |location=London |publisher=Pimlico |year=2003 |orig-year=1995 |isbn=978-1844130900 }}
* Flamini, Gianni (1989) ''L’ombra della piramide''. Teti. (in Italian).
* [[International Third Position]] (1997) ''The Third Position Handbook''. London: Third Position.
* {{cite book |last=Sykes |first=Alan |title=The Radical Right in Britain: Social Imperialism to the BNP |year=2005 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=Basingstoke and New York |isbn=978-0333599242 }}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* [[Political Research Associates]]. ''[http://www.publiceye.org/fascist/third_position.html What is the Third Position?]'', on PublicEye.org (2000).
* [[Southern Poverty Law Center]]. ''[https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2015/third-position-web Third Position on the Web]''.

{{Fascism}}

[[Category:Third Position| ]]
[[Category:Right-wing anti-capitalism]]
[[Category:Anti-corporate activism]]
[[Category:Authoritarianism]]
[[Category:Cold War terminology]]
[[Category:Economic ideologies]]
[[Category:Neo-fascism]]
[[Category:Syncretic political movements]]
[[Category:Anti-communism]]
[[Category:Far-right politics]]