Son yıllarda popülist radikal sağ partiler Avrupa'da hızlı bir yükseliş içerisindedir. Popülizm, yerlicilik ve otoriterliği birleştiren bu partiler küreselleşme, Avrupa Birliği (AB), göçmen, mülteci ve İslam karşıtı söylem ve politikaları ile özellikle ekonomik bağımsızlıklarını ve kültürel kimliklerini kaybetme endişesi taşıyan seçmenlerin desteğini almaktadırlar. Dışlayıcı söylem ve politikaları ile söz konusu partiler Batı Avrupa'nın yerleşik demokrasilerini özellikle kişisel özgürlükler, siyasi haklar ve siyasal çoğulculuk temelinde tehdit ederek, liberal demokrasinin temel ilke ve kurumlarında aşındırıcı etkilere sebep olmaktadırlar. Bu çalışma söz konusu tehditleri Avusturya, Almanya, Hollanda, İtalya ve Fransa örnekleri çerçevesinde incelemektedir.

Populist radical right parties have become one of the significant actors of contemporary European politics. These parties are considered to threaten democratic systems due to their exclusionary notion of identity and authoritarian political tendencies. While their rise is explained either through demand-or supply-side factors, there is a widespread consensus that crises positively contribute to these parties. Indeed, there are many examples which support this thesis in the cases of economic and political crises; however, in the case of a health crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic, it looks as this new kind of crisis has not generated common and constant positive conditions for populist parties to exploit. Some scholars even argue that the pandemic is bringing the end of populism. This study seeks to explore impediments caused by the health crisis to the discourses and policies of populist radical right parties as well as their responses to the crisis and the possible impact of the pandemic on the political prospects of the parties. To analyze these issues, this article examines AfD (Alternative für Deutschland -Germany), RN (Rassemblement National -France), Lega (Italy), Vox (Spain), and PVV (Partij vor Vrijheid -the Netherlands). This research shows that although the COVID-19 crisis has posed some significant challenges to populist radical right parties, it was not able to marginalize them. On the contrary, the pandemic which is deepening existing structural problems is likely to empower these parties in the medium and long term.