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From Cohesion to Contagion? Populist Radical Right Contestation of EU Enlargement

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  • Marie‐Ève Bélanger
  • Natasha Wunsch

Abstract

The rise of populist radical right parties (PRRPs) in a growing number of European Union (EU) member states and inside the European Parliament (EP) has triggered concern over their ability to drive further contestation of European integration. Using EU enlargement as a test case, we analyse an original dataset of over 2′700 hand‐coded statements from the last three EP mandates (2004–19) to trace the emergence of an increasingly coherent, oppositional discourse by PRRPs towards a further widening of the EU. We show that PRRPs contribute to a generalized hardening of opposition towards enlargement, but fail to impose their identity‐focused framing upon other parliamentary actors. Instead, we suggest that mainstream party groups accommodate PRRPs' essentialist discourse by shifting from technical, conditionality‐based reasoning towards more political arguments articulated around human rights and democracy. Our findings feed into debates about the transnational cooperation of PRRPs and the political impact of Euroscepticism.

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  • Marie‐Ève Bélanger & Natasha Wunsch, 2022. "From Cohesion to Contagion? Populist Radical Right Contestation of EU Enlargement," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(3), pages 653-672, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:60:y:2022:i:3:p:653-672
    DOI: 10.1111/jcms.13280
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Helene Sjursen, 2002. "Why Expand?: The Question of Legitimacy and Justification in the EU’s Enlargement Policy," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(3), pages 491-513, September.
    2. Gerda Falkner & Georg Plattner, 2020. "EU Policies and Populist Radical Right Parties' Programmatic Claims: Foreign Policy, Anti‐discrimination and the Single Market," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(3), pages 723-739, May.
    3. Sarah Meyer & Sieglinde Rosenberger, 2015. "Just a Shadow? The Role of Radical Right Parties in the Politicization of Immigration, 1995–2009," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 3(2), pages 1-17.
    4. Abou-Chadi, Tarik & Krause, Werner, 2020. "The Causal Effect of Radical Right Success on Mainstream Parties’ Policy Positions: A Regression Discontinuity Approach," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 50(3), pages 829-847, July.
    5. Abou-Chadi, Tarik & Krause, Werner, 2020. "The Causal Effect of Radical Right Success on Mainstream Parties’ Policy Positions: A Regression Discontinuity Approach," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 50(3), pages 829-847.
    6. Meguid, Bonnie M., 2005. "Competition Between Unequals: The Role of Mainstream Party Strategy in Niche Party Success," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 99(3), pages 347-359, August.
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    1. Larissa Böckmann & Sarah L. de Lange & Nathalie Brack & Matthijs Rooduijn, 2025. "Far‐Right Illiberalism in the European Parliament," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 13.
    2. Adriana Ștefănel & Antonio Momoc & Romina Surugiu, 2023. "Downplaying Euroscepticism in Mainstream Media: The Schengen Accession of Romania and Bulgaria," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 11(4), pages 5-19.
    3. Spyros Economides & Kevin Featherstone & Tom Hunter, 2024. "The Changing Discourses of EU Enlargement: A Longitudinal Analysis of National Parliamentary Debates," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(1), pages 168-185, January.
    4. Adriana Ștefănel & Antonio Momoc & Romina Surugiu, 2023. "Downplaying Euroscepticism in Mainstream Media: The Schengen Accession of Romania and Bulgaria," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 11(4), pages 5-19.

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