Far-Right Crisis Politics in Europe: Identity Strategies and Populist Responses in the Cases of Germany (AfD) and France (RN)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63556/ankad.v10i3.504Keywords:
AfD, RN, Identity Construction, Crisis Politics, far-rightAbstract
This study examines the decisive effects of successive crises in Europe between 2015 and 2023, the migration crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the energy and cost-of-living crises, on far-right discourse and identity construction. The main objective of the study is to reveal how the far right uses crises as a political lever and how it deepens social polarization at the discursive level. Within the scope of the research, the crisis-period strategies of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and France’s National Rally (RN) are analyzed through comparative qualitative methods. The findings show that both parties construct crises not merely as external problems, but as strategic “performance arenas” through which to sharpen the “us” versus “other” divide, defend national identity, and delegitimize established political elites. The study demonstrates that AfD and RN reframe crises from economic or security-based technical issues into existential cultural threats to the survival of the nation, thereby facilitating voter mobilization. In this respect, the article contributes a comparative and up-to-date perspective to the literature on the instrumental role of crises in the rise of the far right, drawing on two key European cases.
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