The foreign Policy of Populist radical right parties in Europe-An ideational-Constructivist approach: The case of the Freedom Party of Austria

With the surge of populist radical right parties all over Europe, their influence as a major political actor is increasing dramatically. Some of these parties have manage to get into government in several countries and on more than one occasion. However, surprisingly, despite these parties growing success, very limited attention has been drawn to how these parties view and articulate issues of foreign policy. If the ongoing trend is set to continue, we need to understand how the populist radical right view topics of foreign policy, since their gaining strength can be suggested will eventually have an effect on how European states manage their foreign policy agenda. The ideational and constructivist approaches allow us to examine how populist radical right parties (PRRP) will define, articulate, and conduct issues of foreign policy. This paper will examine how PRRP view issues of foreign policy that go beyond matters of European integration (a highly salient issue for PRRP). The paper will seek to understand how populist radical right parties view international organisations such as the UN and NATO. What is the attitude towards international economic organisations such as IMF and WTO. In what way PRRP view issues of humanitarian aid development aid, and peace keeping forces. What is their stand regarding international norms. What is their stand in relation to major powers such as the US, Russia, and China. Their view in relation to international trade and protectionism, and finally what is their stance in relation to the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the EU. The paper will examine these issues by utilising a case study approach focusing on one party as case study. Using both ideational and constructivist motifs to examine the attitudes of the Freedom Party of Austria, FPÖ, Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, stance regarding the issue mentioned above. The Freedom party is a veteran party in Austrian political landscape ever since the 1950’s. The party has become a major pillar in the Austrian party system. The party entered government on more than one occasion (2000-2005, 2017-2019) and currently enjoying very high level of support. With the rise of populist radical right parties it is crucial to understand their stance regarding issues of foreign policy, since their increased domination has a high chance to influence issues of foreign policy and not just the typical issues that are normally associated as their main concern such as immigration and European integration.