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{
    "pk": 246,
    "title": "Similarity Heuristics in the Indian Far Right: How the RSS Obscures Its Operational Scale",
    "subtitle": null,
    "abstract": "<p>To conceal their activities, far-right networks manipulate similarity heuristics that suggest their constituent organizations are discrete and coherent. When an organization crafts a public image indicating that only those who wear the same uniforms and march in the same marches are part of an organization, it implies that those who do not, are not. This use of cognitive shortcuts assists far-right organizations in crafting their organizational boundaries to obscure internal divisions of labor. That these disguised internal divisions of labor exist is strong evidence to support a renewed focus on the intra-organizational dynamics of far-right organizations—a focus that pivots from a discursive to a materialist understanding of the far right. I use the case of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), one of the world’s largest far-right organizations, to argue that similarity heuristics disguise far-right connectivity. Paying granular attention to the organizational boundary-making practices of the RSS demonstrates that the true organizational focus of the RSS is its managerial manifestation, rather than its cadre division, which is just one organization the managerial RSS manages. This key finding suggests that scholars must focus on the mechanics of the managerial RSS over the aesthetic phenomenon of the cadre RSS. Such a focus inevitably leads to a network-centric approach to the Indian far right that better captures the mechanics of its mobilization.</p>",
    "language": "eng",
    "license": {
        "name": "Creative Commons Attribution 4.0",
        "short_name": "CC BY 4.0",
        "text": "Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.\r\n\r\nNo additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.",
        "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0"
    },
    "keywords": [
        {
            "word": "far-right"
        },
        {
            "word": "RSS"
        },
        {
            "word": "organizational networks"
        },
        {
            "word": "Indian Politics"
        },
        {
            "word": "Hindu Nationalism"
        },
        {
            "word": "Covert Networks"
        }
    ],
    "section": "Research Article",
    "is_remote": true,
    "remote_url": "https://escholarship.org/uc/item/21f8v0s1",
    "frozenauthors": [
        {
            "first_name": "Felix",
            "middle_name": "",
            "last_name": "Pal",
            "name_suffix": "",
            "institution": "University of Western Australia",
            "department": "International Relations and Politics"
        }
    ],
    "date_submitted": "2023-02-20T00:35:41.749000Z",
    "date_accepted": "2024-08-06T23:10:01.918000Z",
    "date_published": "2025-06-16T23:40:00Z",
    "render_galley": null,
    "galleys": [
        {
            "label": "PDF",
            "type": "pdf",
            "path": "https://journalpub.escholarship.org/jrws/article/246/galley/36644/download/"
        }
    ]
}