Research Article

Triadic Institutionalization of the Contemporary Far Right: Interactions Between Party, Movement, and Leadership

Volume: 9 Number: 1 December 26, 2025

Triadic Institutionalization of the Contemporary Far Right: Interactions Between Party, Movement, and Leadership

Abstract

This study analyzes the rise of the far right, which began with the 2008 global financial crisis, not simply as an ideological reaction but through a triadic institutional framework focusing on the dynamic interaction between parties, movements, and leaders. It argues that the core mechanism behind the far right’s success is a symbiotic, feedback-driven process of institutionalization involving these three elements: In this model, the party provides institutional resources while the movement mobilizes grassroots energy and street legitimacy. The leader, in turn, binds these two elements with charismatic authority, becoming the architect of reality in a post-truth political environment. Adopting qualitative and theoretical methodologies, this study analyzes the modes of reproduction of the contemporary far right by synthesizing concepts from theorists such as Laclau, Mouffe, Rancière, Tilly, and Weber. It is argued that leaders elevated by social movements and political parties subsequently acquire the power to transform both the party and the movement, and even to establish reality. It is argued that with this power, the far right can reshape democratic institutions from within. This triadic analysis aims to offer a new conceptual tool to the literature by explaining how the far right can maintain an anti-institutional discourse while simultaneously institutionalizing itself in three steps.

Keywords

far right , political parties , social movement , leader , neo-authoritarianism

References

  1. Albertazzi, D. & McDonnell, D. (2008). Conclusion: Populism and twenty-first-century Western European democracies. In D. Albertazzi & D. McDonnell (Eds.), Twenty-First Century Populism: The Spectre of Western European Democracy (pp. 217-224). Palgrave Macmillan.
  2. Arrighi, G., Hopkins, T. K. & Wallerstein, I. (2004). Sistem karşıtı hareketler. Metis Yayınları.
  3. Arzheimer, K. (2015). The AfD: Finally a successful right-wing populist Eurosceptic party for Germany?. West European Politics 38(3), 535-556. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2015.1004230
  4. Aytaç, S. E., Çarkoğlu, A. & Elçi, E. (2024). Populist appeals, emotions, and political mobilization. American Behavioral Scientist, 69(5), 507–525. https://doi.org/10.1177/00027642241240
  5. Balibar, É. (2004). We, the people of Europe? Reflections on transnational citizenship. Princeton University Press.
  6. Betz, H. G. (1994). Radical right-wing populism in Western Europe. Palgrave Macmillan.
  7. Caiani, M. & della Porta, D. (2011). The elitist populism of the extreme right: A frame analysis of extreme right-wing discourses in Italy and Germany. Acta Politica, 46(2), 180-202. https://doi.org/10.1057/ap.2010.28
  8. Castells, M. (2003). Enformasyon çağı: Ekonomi, toplum ve kültür. İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi Yayınları.
  9. Copsey, N. (2004). Contemporary British fascism. Palgrave Macmillan.
  10. Dalglish, C. (2006). From globalization to the “global village.” Global Change, Peace & Security, 18(2), 115-121. https://doi.org/10.1080/14781150600687833
APA
Özdemir, C. O. (2025). Triadic Institutionalization of the Contemporary Far Right: Interactions Between Party, Movement, and Leadership. Lectio Socialis, 9(1), 71-92. https://doi.org/10.47478/lectio.1753297