Avery Gozu
Anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment has surged in Romania, especially since the 2024 presidential elections. Avery Gozu argues that illiberal candidates' weaponisation of homophobia runs deeper than surface-level insults – it is embedded in a socio-cultural web of hetero-nationalism and hegemonic masculinity Read more
Đorđe Milosav
Đorđe Milosav explores how young men are reshaping Europe's political landscape. Drawing on European Election Study data, and based on recent co-authored research, he shows that rising male support for the far right is a generational shift — with potentially serious democratic consequences Read more
Donatella Bonansinga
Is populism ‘emotional’ and mainstream politics ‘rational’? Donatella Bonansinga argues that the divide between rationality and emotionality is rooted in cultural misperceptions, and all politics can be ‘emotional’. Populism is peculiarly emotional, because it taps in to very specific affective states, with key differences between left and right Read more
Vladimir Bortun
Researchers have made significant advances over the past decade in making sense of right-wing populism. However, as this party family continues to win elections, scholars need to pay more attention to the class forces and material interests it represents, writes Vladimir Bortun Read more
Claire Hamilton
Recent protests against the housing of single male asylum seekers in Ireland highlight the crucial role played by security in far-right discourse. Claire Hamilton argues that we need to think more about the ‘dangerous Others’ at the heart of populism’s appeal Read more
Antonia May
The rise of right-wing populist parties in Europe led some mainstream parties to attempt to regain voters' support by adopting pro-nationalist and anti-immigrant rhetoric. However, new research by Antonia May and Christian Czymara suggests that this strategy unintentionally benefits far-right parties and not the political mainstream Read more
Niklas Bolin
Many right-wing populists are no longer considered outsiders, and are increasingly participating in or supporting governments. Yet many voters may still not perceive them as being similar to other parties. Niklas Bolin examines the enduring impact of stigmatisation, and considers how it affects the Sweden Democrats Read more
Orlaith Rice
Frustration with integration policy and fear of crime, two issues which Swedish political rhetoric and public opinion increasingly conflates, fuels the Sweden Democrats’ onward journey into mainstream politics. Orlaith Rice considers where SD sits under labels of populism and illiberalism Read more
