Project description
Effects of far-right groups on international politics
Far-right groups have been gaining greater traction across the European political spectrum and international fora, with their members often contesting international organisations and their policies. For instance, they have profoundly changed negotiations on the Global Compact for Migration in the United Nations (UN). On the other hand, radical right parties in the European Parliament have failed to bring about any deep policy changes. The EU-funded FARRIO project will study why transnational far-right contestation has varying effects on international organisations. Specifically, it will compare effects of far-right contestation in the EU, the UN and its specialised agencies/treaties in four central policy fields (migration, women’s rights, climate change and public health).
Objective
The rise of the far right poses a profound challenge to global politics. Diverse far-right actors, such as political parties, civil society groups, and social movements, have been gaining support in domestic contexts, while intensifying their transnational contacts. As these groups focus on national sovereignty and share a stance against globalization, they often contest international organizations (IOs) and their policies. Yet their impact on international organizations differs: On the one hand, far-right groups have profoundly changed negotiations on the Global Compact for Migration in the UN. On the other hand, radical-right parties in the European Parliament have hardly brought about any deeper policy changes. Why does transnational far-right contestation have varying effects on international organizations?
While scholars have analyzed far-right actors in domestic politics, knowledge about their transnational activities and effects is limited. FARRIO fills this gap empirically, theoretically, and methodologically. Empirically, it compares effects of far-right contestation on the EU, the UN, and its specialized agencies/treaties in four central policy fields (migration, women's rights, climate change, and public health). Theoretically, it proposes that IO changes depend on the directness of far-right strategies and the liberal character of international organizations. It thereby breaks new ground in identifying scope conditions for far-right impact highly relevant for research on transnational protest as well as IO resilience and change. Methodologically, FARRIO draws on and further develops quantitative and qualitative methods. It adapts protest event and networks analysis to map transnational far-right contestation, also including social media data. Bridging Comparative Politics, Social Movement Studies, and the study of International Relations, FARRIO assesses the challenge far-right actors pose to IOs as well as what measures are suited to respond to it.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Topic(s)
Funding Scheme
ERC - Support for frontier research (ERC)Host institution
60323 Frankfurt Am Main
Germany