Dynamics of transnational tokenism: minority engagements with the far right in Britain and Poland

Tokenism involves organizations making a superficial but usually widely publicized effort to include members of social minorities in order to appear inclusive and egalitarian. In the case of far-right groups, tokenism is used to refute accusations of racism and boost political legitimacy. Specific forms of tokenism are affected by political context with fewer incentives to engage in it for far-right organizations operating in less diverse countries where there are lesser pressures from minority groups and the wider public. Britain and Poland provide two cases worth considering together as they are different in terms of the degree of cultural diversity but also intertwined through the presence of a large Polish minority in Britain and significant transnational connections between British and Polish far-right groups. This article explores three cases of tokenization: (1) the positionality of a Black far-right activist in Poland and the responses from far-right organizations there, (2) the approach to the Polish minority by the British far right alongside illustrative reactions among Polish immigrants, and (3) the case of a Polish trans activist operating within far-right spaces in Britain. By combining individual and collective cases, the article reveals the flexibility of tokenism as a legitimizing strategy across national and transnational far-right spaces.