The Transnational Populist Radical Right Ecosystem

Over the past decade, there has been a steep increase in the quantity and quality of transnational activity on the populist radical right (PRR). This has not only been confined to members of European Parliament groups, or even parties and politicians from Europe more broadly, but extends to actors from across the globe, encompassing parties, youth wings, and think-tanks. The result is a burgeoning transnational PRR ecosystem which continues to both widen and deepen. However, while we may be familiar with the big events characterising this ecosystem such as CPAC, NatCon and Foro Madrid, we know little about the actors that drive its construction and connect its various parts. In this paper, we therefore ask: Who are the architects and brokers of PRR transnationalization? To investigate, we use a unique dataset of transnational PRR events, speeches by participants at such gatherings, and original interviews with PRR elected representatives, youth wing leaders, and affiliated think-tank officials. Having firstly mapped out the PRR ecosystem using Social Network Analysis (SNA) and identified its architects and brokers, we then illustrate how these actors contribute to maintaining and growing the ecosystem. Building on our empirical findings, we then propose a theory of PRR transnationalization.