Right-wing Populism

Topic

A political ideology discussed in the context of the Republican party's shift under Donald Trump.


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8/24/2025, 1:44:19 AM

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8/24/2025, 1:47:58 AM

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8/24/2025, 1:47:57 AM

Summary

Right-wing populism is a political ideology combining right-wing politics with populist rhetoric, characterized by anti-elitist sentiments and a focus on the common people. It champions neo-nationalism, social and economic conservatism, and the defense of national culture and identity against perceived external threats. This ideology has seen a significant surge in Europe following the Great Recession, driven by opposition to immigration and Euroscepticism, and has become a dominant force within the Republican Party in the United States since the 2010s, notably influencing Donald Trump's presidential campaigns in 2016 and 2024. The provided context highlights right-wing populism as part of broader ideological shifts, contrasting it with left-wing populism and its associated economic proposals like the 25% Wealth Tax, and noting its challenge to the principles of a free market economy.

Referenced in 1 Document
Research Data
Extracted Attributes
  • Associations

    Authoritarianism, fascism (in its more extreme forms)

  • Key Rhetoric

    Anti-elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establishment, speaking to or for the common people

  • Core Ideology

    Combines right-wing politics with populist rhetoric and themes

  • Potential Threat

    Can threaten democracy if embracing anti-institutional preferences

  • Recurring Themes

    Neo-nationalism, social conservatism, economic nationalism, fiscal conservatism, defense of national culture, identity, and economy

  • Specific Concept

    Welfare chauvinism (expanding the welfare state only for those deemed fit to receive it)

  • Alternative Names

    National populism, Right populism

  • Mobilization Tactics

    Demonization, scapegoating, conspiracy theories, apocalyptic narratives

  • Specific Focus (Europe)

    Opposition to immigration (especially from the Muslim world), Euroscepticism

  • Associated Ideologies (Western World)

    Anti-environmentalism, anti-globalization, nativism, protectionism

  • Distinguishing Feature (vs. Left-wing Populism)

    Defines the 'enemy of the people' as 'other' people (e.g., immigrants, refugees) rather than socio-economic structures or corporations

Timeline
  • Right-wing populist parties became established in the legislatures of various democracies. (Source: wikipedia)

    1990s

  • Following the Great Recession, European right-wing populist movements began to grow in popularity, fueled by opposition to immigration, rising Euroscepticism, and discontent with EU economic policies. (Source: wikipedia)

    2008-12-01

  • Right-wing populism became the dominant political force in the Republican Party in the United States. (Source: wikipedia)

    2010s

  • Donald Trump won the United States presidential election after running on platforms founded on right-wing populist themes. (Source: wikipedia)

    2016-11-08

  • Donald Trump won the United States presidential election after running on platforms founded on right-wing populist themes. (Source: wikipedia)

    2024-11-05

Right-wing populism

Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right populism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics with populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti-elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establishment, and speaking to or for the common people. Recurring themes of right-wing populists include neo-nationalism, social conservatism, economic nationalism, and fiscal conservatism. Frequently, they aim to defend a national culture, identity, and economy against attacks by alleged outsiders. Right-wing populism has associations with authoritarianism, while some far-right populists draw comparisons to fascism. Right-wing populism in the Western world is sometimes associated with ideologies such as anti-environmentalism, anti-globalization, nativism, and protectionism. In Europe, the term is often used to describe groups, politicians, and political parties generally known for their opposition to immigration, especially from the Muslim world, and for Euroscepticism. Some right-wing populists may support expanding the welfare state, but only for those they deem fit to receive it; this concept has been referred to as "welfare chauvinism". Since the Great Recession, European right-wing populist movements began to grow in popularity, in large part due to increasing opposition to immigration from the Middle East and Africa, rising Euroscepticism and discontent with the economic policies of the European Union. From the 1990s, right-wing populist parties became established in the legislatures of various democracies. Right-wing populism has remained the dominant political force in the Republican Party in the United States since the 2010s. Although extreme right-wing movements in the United States (where they are normally referred to as the "radical right") are usually characterized as separate entities, some writers consider them to be a part of a broader, right-wing populist phenomenon. American businessman and media personality Donald Trump won the 2016 and 2024 United States presidential elections after running on platforms founded on right-wing populist themes.

Web Search Results
  • Right-wing populism - Wikipedia

    Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right populism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics with populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti-elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establishment, and speaking to or for the common people. Recurring themes of right-wing populists include neo-nationalism, social conservatism, economic nationalism, and fiscal conservatism. Frequently, they aim to defend a national culture, identity, and economy against [...] ## Definition Right-wing populism is an ideology that primarily espouses neo-nationalism, social conservatism, and economic nationalism. [...] According to Rosenberg, right-wing populism accepts the primacy of "the people", but rejects liberal democracy's protection of the rights of minorities, and favors ethno-nationalism over the legal concept of the nation as a polity, with the people as its members; in general, it rejects the rule of law. All of these attributes, as well as its favoring of strong political leadership, suggest right-wing populism's fascist leanings. Historian Federico Finchelstein defines populism as a form of

  • Right-Wing Populism - ECPS

    The world is in the midst of a resurgent _right-wing populism_ and many democracies are in retreat, according to an _article_by Paul D. Scott. But what is _right-wing populism_. _Right-wing populism__,_ which is also called _national populism_ or _right-wing nationalism_, is a political ideology which combines right-wing politics and populist rhetoric and themes. The rhetoric often consists of anti-elitist sentiments, opposition to the perceived ‘_establishment_’, and speaking to the ‘_common [...] In Europe, the term _right-wing populism_ is used to describe groups, politicians and political parties that are generally known for their opposition to immigration, especially from the Islamic world, and for _Euroscepticism_. It is also associated with ideologies such as _anti-environmentalism, neo-nationalism, anti-globalization, nativism,_ and _protectionism_. _European right-wing populists_ also typically support expanding the welfare state but barring undocumented immigrants from receiving [...] According to Mouffe, _right-wing populism_ does indeed represent a real challenge to the democratic values that are at the core of the political identity of Europe. This is why it is urgent to find an adequate way to address its growing attraction. But this requires understanding the causes of this success and envisaging a truly political answer to the problems that they raise. Read More

  • What is Right-Wing Populism? – Up In Arms - Rural Organizing Project

    The Patriot movement is a form of “right-wing populism,” a reaction to progressive social change by a group that sees itself as losing power, and challenges elites as well as minorities, both of which they see as unproductive, parasitic elements of society. While left-wing populists also challenge elites, right-wing populists instead seek to mobilize “the people” through demonization and scapegoating, conspiracy theories, and apocalyptic narratives and millennial visions. [...] mobilizing people to defend an unequal distribution of social and economic power.(5)Berlet and Lyons, Right-Wing Populism in America, 13-14. For example, a right-wing populist may claim there is a United Nations plot to disarm all Americans so that China can invade more easily. However, the political action they take to counteract this is to support a Republican candidate who opposes gun control. Wild ideas may motivate rather pedestrian political acts. [...] Some people want to dismiss right-wing populists as people who are not in a normal mental state. This is not true; these are usually cross-class movements composed of people who are largely the same as everybody else. While their claims are sometimes bizarre or conspiratorial, they seek to address their grievances (whether real or perceived), by using different kinds of political tactics, including perfectly normal ones like running for office. However, as right-wing populists, they end up

  • Explainer: Populism - Left and Right, Progressive and Regressive

    Populists can be from the right or left of the political divide; left-wing populists (also known as social populists) combine left-wing politics with populist themes and rhetoric while right-wing populists (also known as national populists) do the same on the right side of the political spectrum. Writing about Western Europe in 2018, Chantal Mouffe argued that the “central axis of political conflict will be between right-wing populism and left-wing populism.” Populism does not always have to be [...] For many observers of politics in Europe and the Americas in 2022, the combination of words that forms “right-wing populist” trips easily off the tongue. Right-wing populist politicians, such as Jair Bolsonaro, Narendra Modi, Viktor Orbán, or Donald Trump, are frequently named as such in the press. But populism is an approach to politics⁠—not a singular and comprehensive theory of governance. It is, in fact, a tactic that has long been used around the world, at least since the nineteenth [...] While both left-wing and right-wing populists object to the perceived control of liberal democracies by elites, those on the left also have problems with large corporations and their allies while those on the right focus on external threats. Left-wing populists perceive the enemy of the people to be socio-economic structures rather than particular groups of people. Right-wing populists define the enemy of the people to be “other” people, such as immigrants, refugees, etc. They tend to be

  • A Review of Right-Wing Populism in Latin America and Beyond

    that they channel “the people” and stand against “establishment elites” who do not. Like left-wing populists, rightist populists tend to be outsiders or mavericks who have not been part of the traditional political class. However, right-wing populists differentiate from leftists in key ways. They cast traditional elites as corrupt and they show little tolerance for diversity. They tap into the public’s fears about crime and economic uncertainty, especially among the aspirational lower-middle [...] notable in this section is the sense that right-wing populists can threaten democracy if they embrace “anti-institutional” preferences, as Anthony Spanakos of Montclair State University notes. This evokes images of the violent, post-election attacks by Bolsonaro’s supporters on federal government buildings in Brasília on January 8, 2023. However, the authors do not make the claim or present evidence that right-wing populism exerts a greater or unique threat to democracy than the left-wing [...] One of the volume’s most useful contributions is its effort to correct the view that left-wing populism in Latin America has threatened democracy more than right-wing variants. But one may ask how much of a threat right-wing populism poses and whether some of that threat is unique to this variant of populism. One possibility is suggested by a plurality of the chapters that focus on the resentments motivating populists and their bases. Socio-economic judgments and security concerns seem to be