The Politics of European Populism: Transnational Cooperation and Politicisation

Abstract

In light of the upcoming 2019 European Parliament (EP) elections, a number of Populist Radical Right (PRR) actors have signalled their willingness to shape European political competition by strengthening its anti-establishment pole. This panel explores efforts by the PRR bloc to shape European public debate and influence decision-making at the national and transnational level. It gathers empirical and theoretical contributions that explore populist politicisation through one or several of the following angles. First, analyses of the strategic choices of PRR parties in EP election campaigns, especially changes and continuities in the organizational capacity and ideological cohesiveness of the PRR bloc. Second, studies that document and evaluate the responses of more mainstream Europarties and national parties to the emerging PRR bloc, whether excluding PRR-owned issues from political debate, adopting their policy-positions or opposing them in a confrontational manner. Finally, the panel includes contributions that theorize the resulting influence of PRR parties on the functioning of European institutions, including their impact on the polarization of parliamentary debates, coalition-building, agenda-setting, and policy-making.