Understanding the Rise of the Far Right in the European Union: A Lévi-Straussian Perspective on Political Culture

Laçin Akyıl; Emre Aydilek; Alihan Pasin

doi:10.36484/liberal.1665348

TR EN

Avrupa Birliği’nde Aşırı Sağın Yükselişini Anlamak: Siyasi Kültür Üzerine Lévi-Straussçu Bir Perspektif

Öz

Claude Lévi-Strauss’un yapısalcı çerçevesi bu çalışmada altı AB üye ülkesinde aşırı sağ popülist hareketlerin ortaya çıkışını incelemek için kullanılmıştır: Fransa, Almanya, İtalya, Macaristan, İsveç ve Portekiz. Çalışma, parti manifestoları ve programlarına bakarak aşırı sağ söyleminMsembolik temellerini ortaya çıkarmak için makro düzeyde nitel yöntemler ve mikro düzeyde manuel belge analizi kullanmaktadır. Sonuçlar, bu hareketlerin siyasi anlam üretmek için bize karşı onlar, doğal olana karşı yapay olan ve temiz olana karşı kirli olan gibi ikili karşıtlıkları kullandığını göstermektedir. Bu karşıtlıklar, mit ve kültürel kodlara ilişkin yapısalcı inançlarla tutarlıdır. Aşırı sağ partiler, liderlerini felaket ve yeniden doğuş hikayelerinin kahramanları olarak tasvir etmekte ve kendilerini mitleştirilmiş bir ulusal kimliğin savunucuları olarak resmetmektedirler. Bu sembolik sistemler içerisinde İslamofobi, Avrupa şüpheciliği ve göçmen karşıtlığı söylemleri, kültürel mitlerin yanı sıra politika duruşları olarak da işlev görmektedir. Çalışma, aşırı sağ popülizmin en iyi yapısal dönüşüme verilen kültürel bir yanıt olarak anlaşılabileceği sonucuna varmaktadır ki Lévi-Strauss’un teorisi bunun için ikna edici bir analitik araç sunmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Levi-Strauss , Avrupa Birliği , Siyasal Kültür , Aşırı Sağ , Popülist liderlik , Döküman Analizi

Understanding the Rise of the Far Right in the European Union: A Lévi-Straussian Perspective on Political Culture

Abstract

The structuralist framework of Claude Lévi-Strauss is used in this study to examine the emergence of far-right populist movements in six European Union (EU) member states: France, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Sweden, and Portugal. The study uses qualitative methods at the macro level and manual document analysis at the micro level to uncover the symbolic underpinnings of far-right speech by looking at party manifestos and programs. The results demonstrate that these movements use binary oppositions -such as us against them, natural versus artificial, and clean versus dirty -to generate political meaning. These oppositions are consistent with structuralist beliefs about myth and cultural codes. Far-right parties portray their leaders as heroes in stories of catastrophe and rebirth, and they portray themselves as defenders of a mythologized national identity. Within these symbolic systems, discourses on Islamophobia, Euroskepticism, and anti-immigration serve as cultural myths as well as policy stances. The study concludes that far-right populism is best understood as a cultural response to structural transformation, for which the theory of Lévi-Strauss offers a compelling analytical tool.

Keywords

Levi-Strauss , European Union , Political Culture , Far Right , Populist Leadership , Document Analysis

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

European and Region Studies , Political Science (Other)

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Laçin Akyıl ^*
0000-0001-7816-3131
Türkiye

Emre Aydilek
0000-0002-4767-2424
Türkiye

Alihan Pasin
0000-0003-2847-6214
Türkiye

Early Pub Date

October 2, 2025

Publication Date

September 25, 2025

Submission Date

March 25, 2025

Acceptance Date

June 16, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Number: 119

DOI

https://doi.org/10.36484/liberal.1665348

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA45UK25YE

APA

Akyıl, L., Aydilek, E., & Pasin, A. (2025). Understanding the Rise of the Far Right in the European Union: A Lévi-Straussian Perspective on Political Culture. Liberal Düşünce Dergisi, 119, 267-294. https://doi.org/10.36484/liberal.1665348

Avrupa Birliği’nde Aşırı Sağın Yükselişini Anlamak: Siyasi Kültür Üzerine Lévi-Straussçu Bir Perspektif

Öz

Anahtar Kelimeler

Understanding the Rise of the Far Right in the European Union: A Lévi-Straussian Perspective on Political Culture

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References

Details

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Early Pub Date

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Published in Issue

DOI

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