Counteracting the far right (COUNTERRIGHT)

• Applicants: Professor Anselm Hager; Professorin Dr. Heike Klüver
• Subject Area: Political Science
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 513092447

The subproject “COUNTERRIGHT” traces within the framework of the RU‘s beliefs-externalities-legitimacy (BEL) model the structural change brought about by mass migration (M; driver). The subproject analyzes and counters the emergence of far-right beliefs (nativism and anti-establishmentarianism) in the wake of M, testing both the Conflict-Abatement Hypothesis (CAH), i.e., how to abate conflicts between natives and immigrants by softening far-right beliefs, and the Conflict-Escalation Hypothesis (CEH), i.e., whether far-right parties escalate these conflicts by causing the spread of far-right beliefs. Our overarching hypothesis contextualizing the CEH is that migration is a key driver of far-right beliefs (brought about by the perceived negative social and economic externalities of migration). M2 traces this specific version of the BEL-model with two cutting-edge studies, and then explores in two further novel studies how far-right beliefs can be most effectively countered. By analyzing the spread of far-right beliefs as well as its potential mitigants, M2 can significantly add to a burgeoning literature on far-right and xenophobic politics. The project’s intention is to i) distill new evidence how the spread of far-right beliefs can be explained, and ii) lay out clear theoretical mechanisms on how to reduce far-right beliefs. M2 will use cutting-edge experimental as well as Natural Language Processing techniques, drawing on natural observational data from both online and offline settings as well as field experimental samples. The expected outcome of M2 is a clear theoretical model for how a pertinent driver of structural change, M, can threaten the legitimacy of Western democracies via the spread of far-right beliefs and how societies can best shield against this challenge.

• DFG Programme: Research Units
• Subproject of: FOR 5622: Big Structural Change