Perspectives of the Antifa Movement in Cyprus

Abstract

The article examines two different leftist, Antifa actors in Cyprus, a political party and a societal group (i.e., an organized football fan group), in relation to two issues. First, we scrutinize their action repertoire in order to identify the type of activities they embrace to tackle the fascist/far-right threat and activity. Second, we study their perceptions regarding the extent of the fascist threat and the use of violence in their treatment of far-right organizations and activists. The article seeks to understand how antifascists in Cyprus understand resistance against far-right organizations, and violence in particular as one manifestation of this resistance. The methodology relied on fieldwork that combines two different methods: analysis of social media posts over a span of 11 years (2010-2021) and selected interviews with activists and cadres from the two actors. We find that they share similar perceptions about the extent and the nature of the fascist threat in Cyprus. They also share similarities with regard to the overall toolkit they use to deal with the far-right. However, they deviate significantly in the way they perceive the use of violence against fascists.