Constitutionalism and the radical right: The case of the Spanish party Vox

Abstract

Abstract Since 2018, the radical right party Vox has been part of the political landscape in Spain. This the article analyzes Vox’s electoral manifesto and some important speeches of the party’s leaders, in order to address three main topics. First, the article explains how key themes of liberal constitutionalism feature in the narrative of the party. Second, the article analyzes the extent to which Vox’s policy proposals can be described as illiberal. Third, the article doctrinally assesses to what extent such proposals are compatible with the Spanish Constitution. Contributing to the literature on radical right parties and illiberalism, this article describes the main traits of Vox’s current political approach to constitutionalism. It is argued that these traits can be summarized in three main features: partisan use of constitutional rhetoric, constitutional double standards combined with selective constitutionalism, and unconstitutionality of core policy proposals.