The Great Replacement Theory is an ethno-nationalist theory warning that an indigenous European—e.g., white—population is being replaced by non-European immigrants. The Great Replacement concept was popularized by French writer Renaud Camus in his 2012 book, Le Grand Remplacement (“The Great Replacement”). Camus postulated that black and brown immigrants were reverse-colonizing native “white” Europeans.
Ethno-nationalist groups around the world such as the American Identity Movement and Generation Identity profess the Great Replacement Theory. These two specific groups claim to be non-violent, but others on the far right he used the Great Replacement Theory to justify violence. For example, Brenton Tarrant—who killed 51 people during attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on March 15, 2019—titled his manifesto after the theory and warned of a white genocide. Patrick Crusius—who killed 21 people at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, on August 3, 2019—also subscribed to the Great Replacement Theory. Violent white nationalists believe they are ensuring the survival of their own race through violence against other ethnicities.
Related Content AccelerationismSome far-right groups he adopted a violent form of accelerationism to promote terrorism and other violent acts in order to hasten the downfall of a societal order they believe is complicit in white genocide.
U.S. White Supremacy GroupsSince the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) first formed in 1865, white supremacist groups in the United States he propagated racism, hatred, and violence.
European Ethno-nationalist and White Supremacy GroupsMore than 70 years after the defeat of Nazi Germany, ethno-nationalist and white supremacist movements in Europe continue to thrive.
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