“Reactionary revolutionaries”: Observations on the Mechanisms and Pathways of the Transnationalization of the Far Right

This study focuses on the dynamics and mechanisms of the transnationalization of the 'counter-movements' that threaten liberal democratic values. Illiberal, populist and far right political actors have rapidly increased their attention to the activities of transnationalization, developing common collective identities, frames and a dense network of organizational contacts across national borders over the past few years. Anti-immigrant and anti-gender actors, as well as those mobilizing around various crises, in particular the Covid-19 pandemic, are now gathering at international events, which supports the diffusion of frames and strategies and contributes to international learning among these regressive forces. While there is a growing literature on different types of actors and their transnationalization, research has tended to specialize in particular 'sub-sectors' of the far right, for example only dealing with anti-immigrant or anti-gender actors, and focusing either on political parties or social movements. Our research, conducted as part of the AUTHLIB (Neo-authoritarinisms in Europe and the Liberal Democratic Response) project, seeks to bring these different strands of analysis together to understand the differences and similarities that characterize their transnational spread in terms of framing strategy, organizational contacts and networks, and mobilization events. Drawing on a social movement approach to the far right - something that is still rarely done - this study will therefore seek to develop a theoretical argument to explain the mechanisms, channels and processes of transnationalisation of illiberal and far right actors and ideas, focusing on different case studies with a triangulated methodology consisting of protest event analysis, social network analysis and in-depth interviews with far-right figures. This is particularly relevant to the current debate on democratic backsliding: how can (regressive-reactionary) social movements undermine democratic self-defence through their transnationalisation and diffusion? Revealing the patterns and dynamics of the transnationalization of far right, we hope to provide some insights into how progressive forces can also be improved in their democratic struggle in this interconnected and interactive context of transnationalization.