Research Article

Populist Radical Right in the Visegrád Four: Diverging Strategies, Converging Agendas

Volume: 13 Number: 2 October 1, 2025
TR EN

Populist Radical Right in the Visegrád Four: Diverging Strategies, Converging Agendas

Abstract

The rise of populist radical right-wing (PRR) parties in the Visegrád Four (V4), Poland, Hungary, Czechia and Slovakia, has reshaped Central European politics. Despite divergent national strategies, these parties share a converging agenda opposing liberal democracy, European integration, and multiculturalism. This article examines their evolution, ideological shifts, and political impact. Using a comparative qualitative analysis, this study draws on party manifestos, electoral data, and discourse analysis to explore how PRR parties manipulate historical narratives, nationalism, and Euroscepticism. While Fiatal Demokraták Szövetsége–Magyar Polgári Szövetség (Fidesz) in Hungary and Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (PiS) in Poland have institutionalized illiberal governance, PRR movements in Czechia and Slovakia remain fragmented but influential. The 2015 migration crisis and EU conditionality mechanisms accelerated their radicalization and mainstreaming. Findings reveal that PRR parties succeed by co-opting mainstream conservatives and reframing national identities, fostering democratic backsliding. Though they operate in distinct contexts, their shared ideological core and governance tactics present a unified challenge to European liberalism. This article contributes to debates on illiberalism, populism, and EU relations, highlighting the PRR’s role in reshaping regional and supranational politics.

Keywords

References

  1. About Hungary (2020) Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s “State of the Nation” Address. About Hungary, February 16. https://abouthungary.hu/speeches-and-remarks/prime-minister-viktor-orbans-stateof-the-nation-address-2 (Accessed: 25.05.2025)
  2. About Hungary (2024) Speech by Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the Presentation of the Fidesz-Hungarian Civic Alliance Election Manifesto. About Hungary, April 19. https://abouthungary.hu/speeches-andremarks/speech-by-prime-minister-viktor-orban-at-the-presentation-of-the-fidesz-hungariancivic-alliance-election-manifesto (Accessed: 31.05.2025)
  3. Adam, Z. (2023) Politicizing War: Viktor Orban’s Right-Wing Authoritarian Populist Regime and the Russian Invasion of Ukraine. In G. Ivaldi & E. Zankina (ed.), The Impact of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine on Right-Wing Populism in Europe (169–184). Brussels: ECPS
  4. Agh, A. (2022) The Orbán Regime as the ‘Perfect Autocracy’: The Emergence of the ‘Zombie Democracy’ in Hungary. Politics in Central Europe 18(1), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.2478/pce-2022-0001Attila Gökhun DAYIOĞL 258
  5. Alekseev, A. (2025) The (Changing) Concept of Democracy in (Transforming) European Populist Radical Right Discourses: The Case of Polish Law and Justice. Journal of Contemporary European Studies 33(1), 121–141. https://doi.org/10.1080/14782.804.2024.2360635
  6. Avar, Y. (2024) Similarities between the PiS Party in Poland and the Fidesz Party in Hungary. Marmara Avrupa Araştırmaları Dergisi 32(1), 25–47. https://doi.org/10.29228/mjes.453
  7. Ban, I. Z. (2022) Viktor Orban’s Hungary: Interaction between Rhetoric and Political System [unpublished MA thesis]. Aalborg: Aalborg University
  8. Bar-On, T. (2018) The Radical Right and Nationalism. In J. Rydgren (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Radical Right (17–41). New York: Oxford University Press

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

European Studies

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

October 1, 2025

Submission Date

April 5, 2025

Acceptance Date

June 17, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 13 Number: 2

APA
Dayıoğlu, A. G. (2025). Populist Radical Right in the Visegrád Four: Diverging Strategies, Converging Agendas. Marmara Üniversitesi Siyasal Bilimler Dergisi, 13(2), 240-261. https://doi.org/10.14782/marmarasbd.1670409
AMA
1.Dayıoğlu AG. Populist Radical Right in the Visegrád Four: Diverging Strategies, Converging Agendas. Marmara Üniversitesi Siyasal Bilimler Dergisi. 2025;13(2):240-261. doi:10.14782/marmarasbd.1670409
Chicago
Dayıoğlu, Attila Gökhun. 2025. “Populist Radical Right in the Visegrád Four: Diverging Strategies, Converging Agendas”. Marmara Üniversitesi Siyasal Bilimler Dergisi 13 (2): 240-61. https://doi.org/10.14782/marmarasbd.1670409.
EndNote
Dayıoğlu AG (October 1, 2025) Populist Radical Right in the Visegrád Four: Diverging Strategies, Converging Agendas. Marmara Üniversitesi Siyasal Bilimler Dergisi 13 2 240–261.
IEEE
[1]A. G. Dayıoğlu, “Populist Radical Right in the Visegrád Four: Diverging Strategies, Converging Agendas”, Marmara Üniversitesi Siyasal Bilimler Dergisi, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 240–261, Oct. 2025, doi: 10.14782/marmarasbd.1670409.
ISNAD
Dayıoğlu, Attila Gökhun. “Populist Radical Right in the Visegrád Four: Diverging Strategies, Converging Agendas”. Marmara Üniversitesi Siyasal Bilimler Dergisi 13/2 (October 1, 2025): 240-261. https://doi.org/10.14782/marmarasbd.1670409.
JAMA
1.Dayıoğlu AG. Populist Radical Right in the Visegrád Four: Diverging Strategies, Converging Agendas. Marmara Üniversitesi Siyasal Bilimler Dergisi. 2025;13:240–261.
MLA
Dayıoğlu, Attila Gökhun. “Populist Radical Right in the Visegrád Four: Diverging Strategies, Converging Agendas”. Marmara Üniversitesi Siyasal Bilimler Dergisi, vol. 13, no. 2, Oct. 2025, pp. 240-61, doi:10.14782/marmarasbd.1670409.
Vancouver
1.Attila Gökhun Dayıoğlu. Populist Radical Right in the Visegrád Four: Diverging Strategies, Converging Agendas. Marmara Üniversitesi Siyasal Bilimler Dergisi. 2025 Oct. 1;13(2):240-61. doi:10.14782/marmarasbd.1670409