Countering the Far Right: What Responses Really Work, When, and Why?

The rise and persistence of far-right actors across Europe have prompted a growing debate about what constitutes an effective response. Yet, despite the expanding literature on far-right parties and mainstream party strategies, we still lack a systematic understanding of what works, when, and why in countering the far right. This paper develops a comparative framework for assessing the effectiveness of responses across different contexts, actors, and arenas. We argue that effectiveness cannot be narrowly defined in electoral terms – such as temporarily reducing far-right vote shares – but must also encompass broader democratic outcomes, including preventing normalisation, sustaining liberal-democratic norms, and improving citizens’ satisfaction with democracy. Building on research on responsiveness and party competition, we conceptualise effectiveness along three dimensions: (1) actors (political parties, media, civil society); (2) arenas (parliament, party competition, government, extra-parliamentary), and (3) timing (proactive versus reactive). This multidimensional approach allows us to identify the conditions under which particular responses – such as a cordon sanitaire, policy adaptation, or government inclusion – either succeed or backfire. Empirically, the paper employs a most-similar-systems design comparing Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, and Wallonia. These cases capture variation in far-right strength, government participation, and societal entrenchment – from rapid breakthroughs (Netherlands), to enduring far-right power (Austria), to persistent yet constrained movements (Germany), and cases of resilience without far-right success (Wallonia). Our findings suggest that no single actor or strategy suffices: effective countering of the far right requires layered responses across institutions and society, combining proactive norm defence with credible policy alternatives. In short, confronting the far right is a multi-arena, multi-actor challenge – and understanding how timing, alliances, and arenas interact is key to ‘turning the tide’.