Neo-völkisch movements, as defined by the historian Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, cover a wide variety of mutually influencing groups of a radically ethnocentric character which have emerged, especially in the English-speaking world, since World War II. These loose networks revive or imitate the völkisch movement of 19th and early 20th century Germany in their defensive affirmation of white identity against modernity, liberalism, immigration, multiracialism, and multiculturalism. Some identify as neo-fascist, neo-Nazi, or Third Positionist; others are politicised around some form of white ethnic nationalism or identity politics, and may show right-wing anarchist tendencies. Especially notable is the prevalence of devotional forms and esoteric themes, so that neo-völkisch currents often have the character of new religious movements.
Included under the neo-völkisch umbrella are movements ranging from conservative revolutionary schools of thought (Nouvelle Droite, European New Right, Evolian Traditionalism) to white supremacist and white separatist interpretations of Christianity and paganism (Christian Identity, Creativity Movement, Nordic racial paganism) to Neo-Nazi subcultures (Esoteric Hitlerism, Nazi Satanism, National Socialist black metal).