Populism and nationalism in Alternative für Deutschland and United Kingdom Independence Party

What is it about?

This article is about how two far-right parties position themselves on two axes: 1. a vertical axis that could be described as "populist", because it accounts for the way a party positions itself towards "the people" and "the élites"; and 2. a horizontal axis that could be described as "nationalist", because it measures the extent to which the party favours national interests and represents outsiders (or migrants) as a threat.

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Photo by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash

Photo by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This is important for two reasons. First, the political scenario in many countries is now being destabilised, and new political formations are rising to prominence very quickly. We need to understand this better. Second, the term "populism" is often used to describe these new parties or movements, but there is little consensus about what this actually means. My paper contributes to separating the concepts of "populism" and "nationalism", but also to showing how aspects of both of these are being brought together in subtle ways to attract popular support.

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