Transnational populist publics in Europe and United States

International cooperation between radical right populists has escalated over the last decade. Parties and leaders worldwide are increasingly establishing formal and informal connections with likeminded actors. Although there has been research on the roles of parties and movements in transnationalization processes, we know little about the role of active publics – that is, those individuals who are highly aware of, and involved in, a particular problem, and who take communicative action, especially over social media. This paper therefore asks the following research question: how do online active publics of the populist radical right (PRR) contribute to its transnationalization? It draws upon key concepts from the literature on transnational social movements to study the transnationalization of the online publics’ discourses and mobilisation. Building on the work of authors who have identified transnational political users among PRR parties’ active publics, it seeks to understand what the role of the latter is in the construction of a shared political and communicative framework that goes beyond national borders. Using social network analysis and content analysis of social media data, the paper compares the active publics of four PRR parties: Rassemblement National in France, Fratelli d’Italia and Lega in Italy, and the Republican Party in the United States. Using a cross-platform approach, the analysis sheds light on the transnational interactions among online publics, the prevalent issues and frames that are debated transnationally, and the forms of transnational digital actions.