New book on law, language and the far right features contributions from Impolidez Digital researchers
Routledge published Law, Linguistics and the Far Right: International Perspectives on Verbal Attacks on Vulnerable Groups on 27 October 2026. Edited by Tímea Drinóczi and Ana Larissa Oliveira, both members of the Impolidez Digital project, the book brings together international perspectives on the relationships between language, the far right and the rights of vulnerable groups.
Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the volume draws on linguistics, law, discourse studies, communication and gender studies to investigate verbal and symbolic aggression against women and LGBTQIA+ people. The chapters examine how these practices affect these groups’ dignity, visibility and public participation, contributing to processes of democratic erosion. The analyses cover contexts in Brazil, Germany, Italy, Poland and China, as well as the European human rights system.
The book is organised into three parts: the first presents conceptual and methodological foundations alongside studies of the Brazilian context; the second discusses the relationships between digital hostility and institutional power across different countries; and the third explores forms of multimodal aggression and hostility in law, politics and public culture. Topics include attacks on women in politics, anti-gender discourse, the marginalisation of LGBTQIA+ people on social media and struggles over the recognition of rights.
In addition to editing the volume, Ana Larissa Oliveira and Tímea Drinóczi co-author the introduction and the chapter on models of linguistic impoliteness applied to digitally mediated far-right discourse. Together with Monique Miranda and Isabel Peixoto dos Santos, also members of Impolidez Digital, they co-author Methodological Approaches and Data: A Brazilian Case Study. Ana Larissa, Tímea and Monique also co-author Online Verbal Attacks on Women in Power: A Brazilian Case Study, which examines digital attacks against women in positions of power in Brazil.
Another project member, Johann Unger, contributes with Yue Yin to the chapter How Chinese Players Respond to Queerness in Video Games: Right-Wing Discursive Attacks in Chinese Online Gaming Communities. Their research examines discriminatory discourse within a Chinese online gaming community, broadening the international scope of the discussion. Project collaborator Rieke Schröder contributes a chapter on the legal and discursive governance of trans bodies in Germany.
The volume also features a contribution by Rieke Schröder, a collaborator on the Impolidez Digital project, who authors the chapter From Self-Determination to Sichtkontrolle: Leakiness, Law, and the Governance of Trans Bodies in Germany. Her research examines the legal and discursive governance of trans bodies in Germany, broadening the volume’s discussion of language, recognition and LGBTQIA+ rights.
The publication strengthens international dialogue on questions central to Impolidez Digital’s research: how language practices sustain discrimination and exclusion, and what their consequences are for rights and democratic participation.
You can also download a preview of the book here.
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