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.
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Academic Mentor: Daphne Halikiopoulou, Professor of Comparative Politics at University of Reading
Political Mentor: Mathias Ecke, S&D MEP of the European Parliament