Book Panel: Europe as Ideological Resource. European Integration and Far Right Legitimation in France and Italy

The Irish Association of Contemporary European Studies (IACES) is pleased to invite you to this webinar on Dr Marta Lorimer's latest book. Chaired by IACES board member, Dr Evans Fanoulis (Lecturer above the Bar in International & Global Politics, University of Galway), it will explore how the far right went from illegitimate fringe to contender for public office, and what Europe had to do with it. Dr Lorimer argues that European integration functioned as an ideological resource for far right parties looking for legitimation because it enabled them to refashion their political message in a more acceptable form, while maintaining the allegiance of their existing supporters.

Drawing on the qualitative analysis of over 400 documents produced by the Movimento Sociale Italiano/Alleanza Nazionale in Italy (1978-2009) and the Rassemblement National in France (1978-2019), Lorimer identifies the core concepts and discourses the parties used to talk about Europe, and the legitimation mechanisms associated…