Radicality and moderation in the language of Europe’s extreme right

Abstract

Following the resurgence of the extreme right in Europe, we have witnessed several attempts to classify these parties and group them together under a common label. These eforts have shown that there are signifcant diferences within this “family”. Some of these diferences, such as the variations in the degree of radicalisation of their discourses, have not received the attention they merit. The goal of this research is to show that these diferences in radicality indicate how individual parties adapt, through the use of language, in response to the specifc cultural contexts in which they operate. To this end, we have performed an analysis of the language employed in fve party platforms, linking the diferences to the determinants of their environments.