Right-wing populism

"National Populism" redirects here. For the book by Roger Eatwell and Matthew Goodwin, see National Populism: The Revolt Against Liberal Democracy.

Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and U.S. president Donald Trump in 2019
Polish Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in 2017
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni speaking at the 2022 CPAC
Inauguration of Javier Milei and Victoria Villarruel as President and Vice President of Argentina in 2023
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Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right populism,[1][2][3][a] is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics with populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti-elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establishment, and speaking to or for the "common people". Recurring themes of right-wing populists include neo-nationalism, social conservatism, economic nationalism and fiscal conservatism.[5] Frequently, they aim to defend a national culture, identity, and economy against perceived attacks by outsiders.[6] Right-wing populism has associations with authoritarianism,[7][8] while some far-right populists draw comparisons to fascism.[9][10]

Right-wing populism in the Western world is generally associated with ideologies such as anti-environmentalism,[11] anti-globalization,[12][13] nativism,[12][14][15] and protectionism.[16] In Europe, the term is often used to describe groups, politicians, and political parties generally known for their opposition to immigration,[12][17] especially from the Muslim world,[12][18] and for Euroscepticism.[19] Right-wing populists may support expanding the welfare state, but only for those they deem fit to receive it;[20] this concept has been referred to as "welfare chauvinism".[21][22][23][24][25] Since the Great Recession,[26][27][28] European right-wing populist movements such as the Brothers of Italy and the League in Italy, the National Rally (formerly the National Front) in France, the Party for Freedom and the Forum for Democracy in the Netherlands, National Alliance in Latvia, the Conservative People's Party of Estonia, the Finns Party, the Sweden Democrats, Danish People's Party, Vox in Spain, Chega in Portugal, the Freedom Party of Austria, Fidesz in Hungary, Law and Justice in Poland, the UK Independence Party, the Alternative for Germany, the Freedom and Direct Democracy in the Czech Republic, Greek Solution, Alliance for the Union of Romanians, Revival in Bulgaria, the Swiss People's Party and Reform UK (formerly the Brexit Party) began to grow in popularity,[29][30] in large part due to increasing opposition to immigration from the Middle East and Africa, rising Euroscepticism and discontent with the economic policies of the European Union.[31]

From the 1990s, right-wing populist parties became established in the legislatures of various democracies. Right-wing populism has remained the dominant political force in the Republican Party in the United States since the 2010s.[32] Although extreme right-wing movements in the United States (where they are normally referred to as the "radical right") are usually characterized as separate entities, some writers consider them to be a part of a broader, right-wing populist phenomenon.[33] American businessman and media personality Donald Trump won the 2016 United States presidential election and the 2024 United States presidential election after running on platforms founded on right-wing populist themes.[34]

  1. ^ Berman, Sheri (11 May 2021). "The Causes of Populism in the West". Annual Review of Political Science. 24 (1): 71–88. doi:10.1146/annurev-polisci-041719-102503.
  2. ^ Camus, Jean-Yves; Lebourg, Nicolas (20 March 2017). Far-Right Politics in Europe. Harvard University Press. pp. 12–13. ISBN 978-0-674-97153-0.
  3. ^ Eatwell, Roger; Goodwin, Matthew (25 October 2018). National Populism: The Revolt Against Liberal Democracy. Penguin UK. pp. 1–2. ISBN 978-0-241-31201-8.
  4. ^ Japan's rising right-wing nationalism Vox (26 May 2017).
  5. ^ Zembylas, Michalinos. Affect and the Rise of Right-Wing Populism.
  6. ^ Akkerman, Agnes (2003) "Populism and Democracy: Challenge or Pathology?" Acta Politica n.38, pp.147–159
  7. ^ Weyland, Kurt (July 2013). "Latin America's Authoritarian Drift". Journal of Democracy. 24 (3): 18–32. doi:10.1353/jod.2013.0045. S2CID 154433853.
  8. ^ Norris, Pippa; Inglehart, Ronald (2018). Cultural backlash: Trump, Brexit, and the rise of authoritarian-populism. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-108-42607-7.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference :7 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Bierbach, Mara (26 February 2019). "Climate protection: Where do the EU's right-wing populists stand?". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  12. ^ a b c d Kallis, Aristotle (2018). "Part I: Ideology and Discourse – The Radical Right and Islamophobia". In Rydgren, Jens (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of the Radical Right. Oxford and New York City: Oxford University Press. pp. 42–60. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190274559.013.3. ISBN 978-0-19-027455-9. LCCN 2017025436.
  13. ^ North, Bonnie. "The Rise of Right-Wing Nationalist Political Parties in Europe". Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  14. ^ "Fear of Diversity Made People More Likely to Vote Trump". The Nation. ISSN 0027-8378. Archived from the original on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  15. ^ "The political lexicon of a billionaire populist". Washington Post. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  16. ^ "The End of Reaganism". POLITICO Magazine. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  17. ^ Sharpe, Matthew. "The metapolitical long game of the European New Right". The Conversation. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  18. ^ Traub, James. "The Geert Wilders Effect and the national election in the Netherlands". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  19. ^ Buruma, Ian (10 March 2017). "How the Dutch Stopped Being Decent and Dull". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  20. ^ Busemeyer, Marius R.; Rathgeb, Philip; Sahm, Alexander H. J. (2 March 2021). "Authoritarian values and the welfare state: the social policy preferences of radical right voters" (PDF). West European Politics. 45: 77–101. doi:10.1080/01402382.2021.1886497. hdl:20.500.11820/a79cc9ce-a4c6-499a-80a3-14089958f74f. ISSN 0140-2382. S2CID 233843313.
  21. ^ Busemeyer, Marius R.; Rathgeb, Philip; Sahm, Alexander H. J. (2022). "Authoritarian values and the welfare state: the social policy preferences of radical right voters" (PDF). West European Politics. 45 (1): 77–101. doi:10.1080/01402382.2021.1886497. hdl:20.500.11820/a79cc9ce-a4c6-499a-80a3-14089958f74f. S2CID 233843313.
  22. ^ Enggist, Matthias; Pinggera, Michael (2022). "Radical right parties and their welfare state stances – not so blurry after all?". West European Politics. 45 (1): 102–128. doi:10.1080/01402382.2021.1902115. PMC 8489900. PMID 34621097.
  23. ^ Edsall, Thomas (16 December 2014). "The Rise of 'Welfare Chauvinism'". New York Times. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  24. ^ Rippon, Haydn (4 May 2012). "The European far right: actually right? Or left? Or something altogether different?". The Conversation. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  25. ^ Matlack, Carol (20 November 2013). "The Far-Left Economics of France's Far Right". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on 21 November 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  26. ^ Judis, John B. (5 October 2016). The Populist Explosion: How the Great Recession Transformed American and European Politics. Columbia Global Reports. ISBN 978-0-9971264-4-0.
  27. ^ Cooper, Ryan (15 March 2017). "The Great Recession clearly gave rise to right-wing populism". The Week. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  28. ^ Sarmadi, Dario (20 October 2015). "Far-right parties always gain support after financial crises, report finds". EURACTIV. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  29. ^ "The map which shows how Ukip support is growing in every constituency but two". The Independent. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  30. ^ Hunt, Alex (21 November 2014). "UKIP: The story of the UK Independence Party's rise". BBC News. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  31. ^ Lowe, Josh; Matthews, Owen; AM, Matt McAllester On 11/23/16 at 9:02 (23 November 2016). "Why Europe's populist revolt is spreading". Newsweek. Retrieved 24 March 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  32. ^ Campani, Giovanna; Fabelo Concepción, Sunamis; Rodriguez Soler, Angel; Sánchez Savín, Claudia (December 2022). "The Rise of Donald Trump Right-Wing Populism in the United States: Middle American Radicalism and Anti-Immigration Discourse". Societies. 12 (6): 154. doi:10.3390/soc12060154. ISSN 2075-4698.
  33. ^ Kaplan & Weinberg 1998, pp. 1–2.
  34. ^ "Trump's 6 populist positions". POLITICO. Retrieved 24 March 2017.


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