Opposition to Government and Back: How Illiberal Parties Shape Immigration Discourse and Party Competition
In recent decades, illiberal far-right parties have seen electoral success, reshaped European politics, challenged established norms, and accelerated shifts in political discourse. Thought to be isolated by a cordon sanitaire, these parties are increasingly normalized, gaining footholds in parliamen...
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Cogitatio
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Politics and Governance |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/9609 |
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| author | Franziska Wagner Dean Schafer Mehmet Yavuz |
| author_facet | Franziska Wagner Dean Schafer Mehmet Yavuz |
| author_sort | Franziska Wagner |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In recent decades, illiberal far-right parties have seen electoral success, reshaped European politics, challenged established norms, and accelerated shifts in political discourse. Thought to be isolated by a cordon sanitaire, these parties are increasingly normalized, gaining footholds in parliament and government—from coalition participation in Austria to majority rule in Hungary. As illiberal far-right parties gain access to power, a pressing question arises: How does their parliamentary and governmental participation influence both their discourse and that of mainstream parties? While we know that far-right parliamentary entry influences mainstream parties’ policy adaptations and strategic positioning, less is known about their systematic effects across countries or how governing responsibilities affect their discourse. Theories of issue competition suggest that parties adjust their stances to maintain voter support, but case studies have suggested diverging results. Leveraging a novel liberal–illiberal scale based on word embeddings and dictionaries, this study examines how far-right parties’ participation in parliaments and governments affects their own immigration discourse and that of mainstream parties by analyzing the interaction between 67 parties in eight European countries (Austria, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, and Poland) over the last 15 years. Our findings show that mainstream parties, especially conservative ones, follow the shifts in the immigration discourse of far-right parties. Furthermore, we find that far-right parties minimally moderate their anti-immigration discourse when entering government and then radicalize again when they leave. The illiberal far-right therefore appears to have the net effect of pulling their country’s party system to the right on immigration. These findings clarify the consequences of illiberal party normalization for party competition, coalition strategies, and democratic stability in European politics. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-10964c01210641d4a70dd6ffcde28330 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2183-2463 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Cogitatio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Politics and Governance |
| spelling | doaj-art-10964c01210641d4a70dd6ffcde283302025-08-20T03:33:14ZengCogitatioPolitics and Governance2183-24632025-04-0113010.17645/pag.96094091Opposition to Government and Back: How Illiberal Parties Shape Immigration Discourse and Party CompetitionFranziska Wagner0Dean Schafer1Mehmet Yavuz2Department of Political Science, Central European University, AustriaDepartment of Political Science and Public Administration, Mississippi State University, USA / CEU Democracy Institute, HungaryDepartment of Political Science, Central European University, Austria / Department of Political Science, University of Salzburg, AustriaIn recent decades, illiberal far-right parties have seen electoral success, reshaped European politics, challenged established norms, and accelerated shifts in political discourse. Thought to be isolated by a cordon sanitaire, these parties are increasingly normalized, gaining footholds in parliament and government—from coalition participation in Austria to majority rule in Hungary. As illiberal far-right parties gain access to power, a pressing question arises: How does their parliamentary and governmental participation influence both their discourse and that of mainstream parties? While we know that far-right parliamentary entry influences mainstream parties’ policy adaptations and strategic positioning, less is known about their systematic effects across countries or how governing responsibilities affect their discourse. Theories of issue competition suggest that parties adjust their stances to maintain voter support, but case studies have suggested diverging results. Leveraging a novel liberal–illiberal scale based on word embeddings and dictionaries, this study examines how far-right parties’ participation in parliaments and governments affects their own immigration discourse and that of mainstream parties by analyzing the interaction between 67 parties in eight European countries (Austria, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, and Poland) over the last 15 years. Our findings show that mainstream parties, especially conservative ones, follow the shifts in the immigration discourse of far-right parties. Furthermore, we find that far-right parties minimally moderate their anti-immigration discourse when entering government and then radicalize again when they leave. The illiberal far-right therefore appears to have the net effect of pulling their country’s party system to the right on immigration. These findings clarify the consequences of illiberal party normalization for party competition, coalition strategies, and democratic stability in European politics.https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/9609europefar‐right partiesilliberal partiesimmigration discourseparliamentary speechesparty competition |
| spellingShingle | Franziska Wagner Dean Schafer Mehmet Yavuz Opposition to Government and Back: How Illiberal Parties Shape Immigration Discourse and Party Competition Politics and Governance europe far‐right parties illiberal parties immigration discourse parliamentary speeches party competition |
| title | Opposition to Government and Back: How Illiberal Parties Shape Immigration Discourse and Party Competition |
| title_full | Opposition to Government and Back: How Illiberal Parties Shape Immigration Discourse and Party Competition |
| title_fullStr | Opposition to Government and Back: How Illiberal Parties Shape Immigration Discourse and Party Competition |
| title_full_unstemmed | Opposition to Government and Back: How Illiberal Parties Shape Immigration Discourse and Party Competition |
| title_short | Opposition to Government and Back: How Illiberal Parties Shape Immigration Discourse and Party Competition |
| title_sort | opposition to government and back how illiberal parties shape immigration discourse and party competition |
| topic | europe far‐right parties illiberal parties immigration discourse parliamentary speeches party competition |
| url | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/9609 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT franziskawagner oppositiontogovernmentandbackhowilliberalpartiesshapeimmigrationdiscourseandpartycompetition AT deanschafer oppositiontogovernmentandbackhowilliberalpartiesshapeimmigrationdiscourseandpartycompetition AT mehmetyavuz oppositiontogovernmentandbackhowilliberalpartiesshapeimmigrationdiscourseandpartycompetition |