Am Donnerstag, 30.01.2025 ist Larissa Böckmann (Universität Amsterdam) in meinem Kolloquium zu Gast. Sie hat im September 2022 ihr Studium der empirischen Demokratieforschung abgeschlossen und promoviert seitdem im Rahmen des GEM-Diamond European Joint Doctorate an den Universitäten Amsterdam und Brüssel.
Von 12 bis 14 Uhr spricht sie in Raum 02-601 (Georg-Forster-Gebäude) über ein aktuelles Papier, das sich mit der Bedeutung illiberaler Ideen für Reden im Europäischen befasst. Alle Interessierten sind herzlich eingeladen!
Abstract: The transnational far-right and illiberalism in the European Parliament
The rise of illiberalism has become a global concern, especially since the establishment of far-right illiberal regimes in countries such as Hungary, India, Poland, and Turkey. Although the way these regimes have come about has been explored extensively, considerably less scholarship has examined the extent to which far-right parties in general, irrespective of whether they are in power or in opposition, embrace illiberalism as a set of ideas. This ideology encompasses an alternative model of politics and society that rejects its liberal cultural, economic and political principles, such as individual autonomy, minority rights and freedoms, and pluralism. This research investigates the prevalence of illiberal ideas amongst far-right parties in Europe and more specifically, studies whether illiberalism has become more common in far-right discourse and how to explain differences across far-right parties in Europe.
Empirically, a dictionary-based form of content analysis is used to measure illiberal discourse in the speeches given by far-right representatives in the European Parliament between 1999 and 2019. We show that although illiberalism has always been a distinct feature of far-right discourse, illiberal ideas have become more prominent in speeches of far-right politicians in the European Parliament since 2017, after Brexit and the election of Trump. In a second step, the heterogeneity of illiberal discourse among far-right politicians between 1999 and 2024 is examined. OLS regression is used to explain differences in illiberal discourse between far-right politicians in the European Parliament, employing a comprehensive framework of explanatory factors that considers characteristics of the individual MEP and their party, as well as factors at both the national level and the European level, to explain the varying adoption of illiberal ideology among the far right.