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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.

Suggested Citation

  • 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. 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. Tom Hunter & Natasha Wunsch & Marie-Eve Bélanger, 2025. "A geopolitical turning point? Enlargement discourse after the Russian invasion of Ukraine," European Union Politics, , vol. 26(4), pages 689-713, December.
    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. Tom Hunter & Stefanie Walter, 2026. "International organizations in national parliamentary debates," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 41-67, March.
    5. 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.
    6. 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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