Antonis Galanopoulos is a political researcher and project coordinator at Eteron – Institute for Research and Social Change. He holds a PhD in Political Science from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and a master’s degree in Political Theory and Philosophy from the same institution. His research focuses on political discourse analysis, psychosocial studies, democracy, the populism/anti-populism divide and nationalism. His work has been published in peer-reviewed journals, edited volumes, and handbooks by leading academic presses, while he also contributes regularly to public debate through essays and opinion articles in Greek and international media.
This policy study investigates the strategies employed by European social democratic parties in response to the rise of far-right political parties since the 2010s. By building on well over 100 academic studies, we draw clear strategic implications for progressive actors facing far-right competition.
After looking at scientific research on how to fight the far right, a minimum of three strategic orientations emerge:
1) Social democrats must systematically understand why far-right narratives resonate – examining social grievances, emotions and discursive strategies – without adopting far-right frames.
2) They must reclaim agenda-setting power by foregrounding areas of long-standing credibility – notably, welfare, redistribution and economic justice – and by refusing debates imposed on far-right terms.
3) Social democrats need a positive, forward-looking vision that combines an inclusive collective identity with a credible agenda for economic equality, reconnecting policy with collective emotions.
Read the Policy Study
Academic Mentor: Daphne Halikiopoulou, Professor of Comparative Politics at University of Reading
Political Mentor: Mathias Ecke, S&D MEP of the European Parliament
