Policy Brief: The vicious cycle of far-right success in Europe

Far-right parties are reaping electoral success across Europe. In their struggle to win back voters, progressive actors are making a crucial mistake, argues Prof. Tarik Abou-Chadi in our latest Brussels Democracy Paper.

By imitating far-right positions, progressive parties are disregarding the supply side of this dynamic—namely, their own response to these political shifts. This keeps them stuck in a vicious cycle:

1. Mainstream parties react to the success of radical right parties by shifting rightwards on immigration.

2. These strategic shifts fail to win back voters effectively.

3. These shifts, in turn, influence public opinion and normalise far-right parties.

4. Observing this shift in public opinion, parties move even further to the right, thus perpetuating the cycle.

Read our new FES Brussels Democracy Paper on how to break this vicious cycle.