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The world is in the midst of a resurgent right-wing populism and many democracies are in retreat, according to an article by Paul D. Scott. But what is right-wing populism? Right-wing populism, which is also called national populism or right-wing nationalism, is a political ideology which combines right-wing politics and populist rhetoric and themes. The rhetoric often consists of anti-elitist sentiments, opposition to the perceived ‘establishment’, and speaking to the ‘common people’. Both right-wing populism and left-wing populism object to the perceived control of liberal democracies by elites; however, populism of the left also objects to the power of large corporations and their allies, while populism of the right normally supports strong controls on immigration.

In Europe, the term right-wing populism is used to describe groups, politicians and political parties that are generally known for their opposition to immigration, especially from the Islamic world, and for Euroscepticism. It is also associated with ideologies such as anti-environmentalism, neo-nationalism, anti -globalization, nativism and  protectionism. European right-wing populists also typically support expanding the welfare state but barring undocumented immigrants from receiving government benefits; this concept has been referred to as “welfare chauvinism”.

From the 1990s, right-wing populist parties became established in the legislatures of various democracies. Although extreme right-wing movements in the US (where they are normally referred to as the “radical right”) have been studied separately, some writers consider them to be a part of the right-wing populist phenomenon. Right-wing populism in the US is also closely linked to paleoconservatism.

Since the Great Recession, right-wing populist movements such as the National Rally (formerly the National Front) in France, the League in Italy, the Party for Freedom and the Forum for Democracy in the Netherlands, the UK Independence Party and the Brexit Party began to grow in popularity, in large part due to increasing opposition to immigration from the Middle East and Africa, rising Euroscepticism and discontent with the economic policies of the European Union. Moreover, US President Donald Trump also won the 2016 United States presidential election after running on a platform that included right-wing populist themes.

Thomas Greven also says in a report that right-wing populism across Europe and the US takes different forms depending on nationally specific factors such as political history, system and culture, but there are similarities. “Populism’s central and permanent narrative is the juxtaposition of a (corrupt) ‘political class,’ ‘elite,’ or ‘establishment,’ and ‘the people,’ as whose sole authentic voice the populist party bills itself,” he explains.

Moreover, Greven writes that “right-wing populists also strategically and tactically use negativity in political communication. Supposed ‘political correctness’ and dominant discourses are at the same time the declared enemies of right-wing populists and their greatest friends. They allow the staging of calculated provocations and scandals, and of the breaking of supposed taboos. As this resonates with the needs of the media in terms of market demands and the news cycle, right-wing populist receive a lot of free media.”

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Right-wing populists

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