Migration and the Populist Radical Right: Politics, Parties and Policy Responses

Migration has become one of the most politically salient and contested issues in contemporary European politics, playing an important role in the rise and consolidation of populist and radical right parties. Over the past decade, successive migration waves including the 2015–2016 “refugee crisis” and more recent Ukraine conflict and subsequent displacement flows have intensified public debate and also reshaped patterns of party competition, political discourse, and policy-making across Europe.
While much scholarship has examined the electoral success of populist and radical right parties, less attention has been paid to how migration is politicised and translated into party strategies, policy agendas, and institutional outcomes — that is, how migration shapes both the supply and demand sides of populism.
This panel invites contributions that examine the interplay between migration, populism and radical right parties in Europe. We welcome papers that engage with a broad range of themes, including (but not limited to) processes of politicisation, dynamics of party competition, and the policy consequences of migration-related debates. Contributions may explore how migration becomes politically salient and contested, including the role of political actors, media narratives, and critical events in shaping public discourse.
We particularly encourage papers on how populist and radical right parties mobilise migration in electoral competition, how other parties respond, and how this affects party systems, voter alignments, and political cleavages. The papers can explore how migration becomes salient and polarised, including the role of political actors, media narratives, and critical events in shaping public debate.
The panel is also interested in research that explores variation across different types of migration and their political effects. Contributions may examine whether and how distinct forms of mobility, such as asylum seekers, labour migrants, irregular migration, or intra-EU movement, may trigger distinct political responses among parties, voters, and institutions.
Methodologically, the panel welcomes qualitative, comparative, quantitative, and experimental approaches, with a preference for strong empirical evidence and comparative focus, at national, regional, or local levels. Single-country and cross-national studies are also welcome.