In the Name of “Endangered Nations” and “Unsovereign States”? Official Discourses of Radical Right Movement Parties and Social Movement Organizations in Poland and Germany

Abstract

The political landscape of the radical right has long been a major discussion point in the political and social sciences. By considering the variety of radical right organizations (movement parties and non-parliamentary organizations) and the particular national and transnational political and discursive opportunity structures, the paper aims at a comparative analysis of the main discursive frames present in political programs and manifestoes of radical right social movement organizations and movement parties in Poland (Konfederacja Wolność i Niepodległość and Obóz Narodowo-Radykalny) and Germany (Alternative für Deutschland and Identitäre Bewegung Deutschland). Moreover, based on approaches developed by Cas Mudde and Jens Rydgren, this article analyses how the features presumed essential to the radical right (nativism, authoritarianism and populism) are reflected and interconnected in the official discourses of the selected radical right organizations.

Becoming a young radical right activist: Biographical pathways of the members of radical right organisations in Poland and Germany

“…Demonstrations or direct encounters with established political leaders known for their authoritarian and racist statements provided activists with feelings of approachability and emotional reassurance that what they do is correct, expected and socially valuable. Thus, despite the common features of an internalisation of the radical right, we found the sociopolitical contexts to be relevant (see Kajta et al, 2023;cf. Miller-Idriss, 2018).…”