Functions of the Word “Democracy” in Right-Wing Populist Discourse

Historically, the literature has defined the “far right”, the “radical right” or “right-wing populism” (hereafter RWP) as political organizations that are opposed to democracy. Depending on the author considered, this opposition is institutional (RWP wants to overthrow democratic institutions) or valorical (RWP, through the ideologies it adopts, would be incompatible with a democratic society). However, as the literature also points out, outside the theoretical field, if we question the political field, RWP in its speech presents itself as the defender of democracy. Thus, in France, the Rassemblement National (RN), in Austria, the Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (FPÖ) and, in Germany, the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), aim to “recover”, “restore”, “recapture” or “protect” democracy. Through this “democratic rhetoric”, the literature argues that this is essentially a symbolic discourse - a form of political marketing or propaganda - rooted in a strategy of “normalization” of the parties to make them respectable in the eyes of the voter. I aim to further refine this assumption by asking the question: in the speech of these parties, is “democracy” only a symbolic term, a strategic argument or - and this is the hypothesis that I intend to demonstrate - is “democracy” also ideologically loaded? In other words, could it be argued that “democracy”, in populist discourse, corresponds to a symbolic argument as well as a very specific ideological lexis? To answer this question, I first propose to concentre on the relationship between RWP and democracy as studied in the literature. Second, I will study the term “democracy” in RN, FPÖ and AfD speeches by carrying out a lexicometric analysis - to support my reflection on a quantitative basis - before combining it with a critical discourse analysis, from a more qualitative perspective. I decided to study all the discourses of these parties available on their websites between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2018. Third, I will deal with different functions of the term “democracy” in the discourse (rhetorical function to identify political opponents and criticize their programmes or actions; emotional function to dramatize a situation ; ideological function to promote nationalism, identity,…) while highlighting some of the tensions in its rhetoric. The case of the FPÖ allows me to compare the speeches and practices of a party that is a member of the opposition and then a member of the government (is speech followed by actions? What policies have been put in place at the level of direct democracy? Have reforms been proposed and implemented?). Finally, I will conclude my presentation by answering my research question and relate it to the notion of illiberal democracy.