Is the Far Right a European Phenomenon? Convergences and Divergences Among Far- Right Parties in Eight European Countries

Far right is on the rise worldwide, increasingly recognised as part of a broader planetary phenomenon. The far right initially emerged in Western Europe before gradually spreading to Eastern and Southern Europe. Digital transformations, globalization, transnational networks, the so-called "Trump effect"; and the rise of new authoritarianism have facilitated the global diffusion of the far right, transforming it into a transnational phenomenon. However, the manifestations of the far right vary significantly across continents, regions, and countries. Our focus is on the European far right, and we argue that it is not as cohesive as it might initially appear, especially when examined from a supply-side perspective. Drawing on data from the FES (Friedrich Ebert Stiftung) project "Populism in Europe - a comparative study of 9 populist parties”, we aim to explore the ideological similarities and differences among the main far-right parties, that belong either the populist-radical right or the extreme right current, in eight European countries (France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Italy, Spain, Cyprus, Sweden, Germany). The primary goal of this paper is to investigate supply-side factors by analyzing the positions of far-right parties within a multi-dimensional political space. It focuses on their stances across a wide range of issues related to dimensions that have significantly shaped the structures of political competition in contemporary European party systems. Far-right parties display considerable diversity in their socio-economic policy positions along the left-right spectrum. This paper seeks to analyze and explain these variations to assess whether substantial differences exist among the nine parties under consideration. Our study contributes to the literature on the far right exploring similarities and differences from a comparative perspective. Considering that many of these parties exhibit a blurred economic profile, we investigate whether their ethno-nationalist and cultural stances influence their economic policy positions. From a supply-side perspective, this analysis adds to the ongoing debate on whether the rise of the far right is primarily an economic or cultural phenomenon.