S: The Far Right in Europe – SoSe 2026
The far right or radical right is the most studied party family in contemporary political science. This burgeoning interest is, in part, the outcome of its growing success in recent years. While for decades these parties were considered to be ‘beyond the pale’, they have joined an increasing number of governments in Europe (and beyond) and shaped political and social dynamics in various ways. This course aims to take stock of the causes and consequences of far right success. It is primarily designed to provide students with a comprehensive and up-to-date introduction to the study of this party family. While taking a broad comparative perspective, this course is primarily focused on Europe and largely centered on political parties. By the end of the course, students will be familiar with the most important debates in the discipline of far right studies and with the wide range of topics and approaches that have been taken. Furthermore, student presentations will deal with specific case-studies (they will be able to choose a party/ country they want to focus on), so as to make them familiar with specific contexts. The seminar format is also meant to encourage the development of analytical and communication skills, as well as the use of the English language. Important: Students will not be penalized for their English level (they should rather take this as an opportunity for practice and improvement). The course assessment is based on (1) a presentation in class, (2) a short final paper, and (3) active participation. The seminar is structured into four parts. In the first part – Concepts & Issues – we will tackle conceptual and terminological questions and introduce some of the core ideological themes of this party family. We will also shed light on the concept of ‘populism’ more broadly and how it relates to the far right. In a second part – Causes – we will address the multiple drivers and facilitators of far right success, focusing both on proximate and contextual factors as well as on long-term structural changes. In a third part – Voters – we will look into the attitudes and profile of far right voters, underlying the relative importance of anti-immigration and populist attitudes, but also exploring the socio-psychological and socio-demographic bases of the vote. Finally, in a fourth part – Consequences – we will discuss these parties’ impact across four different dimensions: political competition; policies; norms and societal polarization; and the quality of democracy.
Selected literature:
Arzheimer, Kai (2018). Explaining Electoral Support for the Radical Right. In The Oxford Handbook of the Radical Right, edited by Jens Rydgren, 143-165. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bursztyn, Leonardo, Georgy Egorov, and Stefano Fiorin (2020). From Extreme to Mainstream: The Erosion of Social Norms. American Economic Review 110(10), 2997-3029.
Copsey, Nigel (2018). The Radical Right and Fascism. In The Oxford Handbook of the Radical Right, edited by Jens Rydgren, 105-121. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Gidron, Noam, & Peter A. Hall (2020). Populism as a Problem of Social Integration. Comparative Political Studies, 53(7), 1027-1059.
Lutz, Philipp (2019). Variation in policy success: radical right populism and migration policy, West European Politics, 42:3, 517-54.
Mansbridge, Jane, and Stephen Macedo (2019) Populism and Democratic Theory. Annual Review of Law and Social Science, 15, 59-77.
Mudde, Cas (2007). Populist Radical Right Parties in Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [Chapter 1 – pp. 11-31]
Norris, Pippa, and Ronald Inglehart (2019) Cultural Backlash. Trump, Brexit, and Authoritarian Populism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [Chapter 2 – pp. 32-64]
Oesch, Daniel, and Line Rennwald (2018). Electoral competition in Europe's new tripolar political space: Class voting for the left, centre-right and radical right. European Journal of Political Research, 57: 783-807.
Stockemer, Daniel, Daphne Halikiopoulou and Tim Vlandas (2020) Birds of a feather’? Assessing the prevalence of anti-immigration attitudes among the far right electorate, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 47(15), 3409-3436.
Vachudova, Milada Anna (2020). Ethnopopulism and democratic backsliding in Central Europe, East European Politics, 36:3, 318-340.
Vasilopoulou, Sofia (2018). The Radical Right and Euroskepticism. In The Oxford Handbook of the Radical Right, edited by Jens Rydgren, 122-140. Oxford: Oxford University Pres.
Wagner, Markus, and Thomas M. Meyer (2017). The Radical Right as Niche Parties? The Ideological Landscape of Party Systems in Western Europe, 1980–2014. Political Studies, 65(1_suppl), 84-107.