Alt-lite

The alt-lite, also known as the alt-light^[1] and the new right,^[2] is a loosely defined right-wing political movement whose members regard themselves as separate from both mainstream conservatism and the far-right, white nationalist alt-right. The concept is primarily associated with the United States, where it emerged in 2017. The term remained in vogue during the Trump administration, as observers assessed all sources for right-wing populism, but has mostly faded from popular discourse as of 2024.

No one who is labelled alt-lite accepts the term as a self-description.^[3] According to extremism scholar George Hawley, alt-lite was coined by white nationalists as a pejorative, in an attempt to exclude more moderate figures from the alt-right.^[3] The term alt-right had previously included "anyone that fell on the right of the political spectrum but had major problems with the conservative movement", including populists and libertarians.^[4] After the term alt-right was successfully reclaimed by white nationalists, previous adherents abandoned the term, and started calling themselves populists or civic nationalists.^[5]