Populism, Redeemed Religion and the Construction of the Repressive Orthodox Nation

Populism has been on the rise in Europe for decades, yet the Romanian party scene was somewhat late to witness the emergence of a populist radical right-wing party. The Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) was founded only in the fall of 2019, ahead of the 2020 local and legislative elections. Despite being labelled an ethno-chauvinist, neofascist, anti-Semitic, and pro-Russian, AUR quickly gained traction becoming Romania’s second party in the latest elections that also contested the presidential election. The party manifesto states four main pillars define AUR, "family, nation, Christian faith, and liberty", yet we argue the party instrumentalizes religion only to reinforce its ethno-populist appeal. We show that in a paradoxical way, anti-Hungarian AUR echoes Hungarian Fidesz’s ethno-religious-populist rhetoric, where faith is instrumentalized to unite the people behind Viktor Orban’s regime. We analyze AUR’s political discourse based on speeches, official documents and social media messages of party leadership 2020-2024, and we argue the Romanian party blends religion and nationalism in an instrumental way, using both identitarian religion and religion as faith to advance exclusionary politics and to mobilize support. This way, AUR re-construct Romanian identity based on religion, tradition, and conservative values that is in repressive opposition to everything secular, liberal, multicultural and supra-national. In this sense, AUR is like any other right-wing populist party that instrumentalizes religion, yet we show how AUR in fact re-builds national identity on a religious core. We claim AUR adopts Brubaker’s ‘civilizationalism’ by building identity based on religion, yet it uses a reversed version to claim supremacy over all other identities – including those of indentitarian Christianisms of Western Europe. This redemptive religious stance is a strategic move to enable Romanians both at home and living and working in the West, often in lower segments of society, feel equal if not supreme to the rest of Europe. AUR on turn can portray itself as the only true defender of traditional values and Orthodox religion not only to gain their vote but to become a crusader of the exclusive Orthodox Romanian nation both at home and abroad.