Construction of the other and discursive strategies of the populist radical right in Western Europe: The Netherlands, Austria and France

This study analyses the anti-immigrant, xenophobic and Islamophobic discursive strategies of three populist radical right parties, namely the National Rally (Rassemblement National) in France, the Freedom Party of Austria (Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs) and the Party for Freedom in the Netherlands (Partij voor de Vrijheid) using the method of Critical Discourse Analysis. While forming the theoretical framework of the thesis, it is claimed that these three parties are in the intersection of radicalism, nativism and populism, which is demonstrated in examining the discursive strategies of these parties. As a result of the review of the related literature and political documents, it was analyzed that these three parties use common anti-immigrant, xenobhobic and Islamophobic discursive strategies, albeit with different intensities. These three parties construct immigrants and foreigners, especially Muslims, as the source of problems and "the other" of their own society through discursive strategies. All three parties present immigrants, foreigners and Muslims as an economic threat and argue that they harm the financial resources and culture of the indigenous population. The reproduction of this discourse operates similarly in all three countries. While Islamophobia has become a key discursive strategy in the discourses of all three parties, it is the leader of the Freedom Party Geert Wilders and his party, which has expanded its radical discursive space.