Europe as Ideological Resource: European Integration and Far Right Legitimation in France and Italy

How did the far right go from illegitimate fringe to contender for public office, and did Europe have anything to do with it? Europe as Ideological Resource argues that European integration functioned as an ideological resource for far right parties looking for legitimation because it enabled them to refashion their political message in a more acceptable form, while maintaining the allegiance of their existing supporters.

Drawing on the qualitative analysis of over 400 documents produced by the Movimento Sociale Italiano/Alleanza Nazionale in Italy (1978-2009) and the Rassemblement National in France (1978-2019), Lorimer identifies the core concepts and discourses the parties used to talk about Europe, and the legitimation mechanisms associated with them. The book’s narrative is developed through the analysis of four key concepts: the concept of identity, which enabled the parties to transnationalise their message and create a positive association between themselves and Europe; the concept of liberty, which made it possible for them to foster an image of actors holding uncontroversial positions; the concept of threat, which helped them promote the idea that ’desperate times call for desperate measures; and the concept of national interest, which helped them stress commitment to core principles in their ideology.

Ever since its re-emergence on the European political scene, scholars have sought to explain the mainstreaming of the far right. By understanding how the process of European integration facilitated its transition from the margins to the mainstream, this book adds one piece to the puzzle of far right legitimation.

Marta Lorimer, Fellow in European Politics, London School of Economics

Marta Lorimer is Fellow in European Politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Prior to joining LSE, she was Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Exeter. She has held visiting positions at TU Dresden and Sciences Po Paris. Her work on the far right and European integration has been published in the Journal of European Public Policy, Ethnic and Racial Studies, Comparative European Politics, and Swiss Political Science Review. She has also co-authored the book Flexible Europe: Differentiated integration, Fairness and Democracy (Bristol University Press, 2022) and authored several book chapters on the Italian and French far right.