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Liberal Illiberalism? The Reshaping of the Contemporary Populist Radical Right in Northern Europe
[journal article]
Abstract Populism, particularly in its radical right-wing variants, is often posited as antithetical to the principles of liberalism. Yet a number of contemporary cases of populist radical right parties from Northern Europe complicate this characterisation of populism: rather than being directly opposed to l... view more
Populism, particularly in its radical right-wing variants, is often posited as antithetical to the principles of liberalism. Yet a number of contemporary cases of populist radical right parties from Northern Europe complicate this characterisation of populism: rather than being directly opposed to liberalism, these parties selectively reconfigure traditionally liberal defences of discriminated-against groups - such as homosexuals or women - in their own image, positing these groups as part of ‘the people' who must be protected, and presenting themselves as defenders of liberty, free speech and 'Enlightenment values'. This article examines this situation, and argues that that while populist radical right parties in Northern Europe may only invoke such liberal values to opportunistically attack their enemies - in many of these cases, Muslims and 'the elite' who allegedly are abetting the 'Islamisation of Europe' - this discursive shift represents a move towards a ‘liberal illiberalism’. Drawing on party manifestoes and press materials, it outlines the ways in which these actors articulate liberal illiberalism, the reasons they do so, and the ramifications of this shift.... view less
Keywords
populism; political right; liberalism; freedom; gender policy; Scandinavia; Netherlands
Classification
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Free Keywords
free speech; illiberalism; nativism
Document language
English
Publication Year
2017
Page/Pages
p. 112-122
Journal
Politics and Governance, 5 (2017) 4
Issue topic
Populism and the Remaking of (Il)Liberal Democracy in Europe
ISSN
2183-2463
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed