“It’s not our war”: populist radical right victimhood in reaction to the war in Ukraine

Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, populist radical right (PRR) parties, Rassemblement National (RN) in France, Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in Germany, and Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (FPÖ) in Austria, have used the publicity of the war to manipulate mainstream narratives to further their own ideological agendas. This study considers how, in line with their nativist and populist ideologies, the parties have ultimately weaponised the conflict to critique the EU, USA, and NATO. Specifically, to articulate the parties’ resistance to sanctions against Russia, weapons shipments to Ukraine, and the reception of Ukrainian refugees, the parties engage in a performance of nativist victimhood, highlighting the impacts of the war on their political community. This focus on self-victimisation allows the parties to tacitly distance themselves from accusations of pro-Russian sentiment, increasingly stigmatised since February 2022. An analysis of the parties’ official Facebook posts, published since February 2022, uncovers three key findings: firstly, criticism of Russia is often minimised in favour of blaming the West; secondly, the victimhood and suffering of Ukrainians in the conflict is largely erased in favour of native victimhood, and thirdly, in opposition to the propositions of each opposing government for more European strategic autonomy, the PRR parties urge for more national autonomy by focusing on the impact of sanctions and possible impact of wider warfare on local populations. The study also examines user comments to posts to find that this performance of victimhood is taken up and escalated by respondents.