The Politics of Extremism: Far-Right Strategies in European Security Cooperation

The success of far-right parties across Europe has raised concerns about the multilateral engagement of European states in international security arrangements. While these parties are known for their nationalist, isolationist, and authoritarian stances, what they actually do in security cooperation remains underexplored. Unlike initially believed, these parties continue engaging in security organizations, but we still do not know how they do so. Taking the case of Italy, this paper explores far-right parties’ strategies in security cooperation in the EU’s Common Defence and Security Policy (CSDP) and NATO. I advance an argument about the variety of strategies of such parties by looking at the League’s coalition government with the 5SM (2018-2019) and Meloni’s government (2022-). I argue that far-right parties differ in their preferences for security cooperation, and they adapt their strategies based on the organization’s structural opportunities. Drawing from interviews and document analysis, the paper contributes to debates about the transnationalization of far-right politics by exploring the various organizational paths that enable the far-right to achieve their political goals at the multilateral level.