Right-wing Ideology Research Articles

‘Welcome to favelas, but in Italy’: Urban precariousness, right-wing ideology and phatic nihilism on social media

Numerous social media projects have depicted grim scenes of urban life in big cities. By exploiting crime or garbage collection problems, for example, these pages have created pessimistic ways of perceiving the city and engaging citizens in search of memes or viral videos. This research invested in two multiplatform projects based in Italy, Welcome to Favelas and Simone Cicalone, to verify their inclination to specific ideologies or political intent behind interventions on social media. Using visual metadata and LDA-generated topics, this paper anchors a visual and critical discourse analysis interested in mapping creators’ phatic strategies. Exploratory results suggest a few formulaic, though elliptic, ways of manipulating audiences for crypto-ideological purposes mainly leaning to the right, theorised here as phatic nihilism.

The role of cognitive biases in shaping irrational beliefs: a multi-Study Investigation

Irrational beliefs encompass a broad set of beliefs that lack verifiable empirical evidence and contradict scientific principles, often grouped into conspiratorial, pseudoscientific, and paranormal domains. This paper investigated whether these beliefs are rooted in a set of cognitive biases. Across four studies, low socioeconomic status, right-wing political orientation, and religiousness accounted for a substantial portion of irrational beliefs variance. However, cognitive biases consistently contributed incrementally to their prediction, with naturalness bias, omission bias, commitment bias, and the overconfidence effect emerging as the most robust predictors. Our findings indicate the nuanced nature of these relationships, as the predictive power of cognitive biases was consistently higher for conspiracist and pseudoscientific beliefs in comparison to paranormal ones.

Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior in Sexuality Education: Educators’ Behavioral Intentions Toward Sexuality Issues

Grounded on Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior (1991), the current project in two studies (N = 402) examined Greek and Spanish pre-service early childhood educators’ behavioral intentions (i.e., approach and avoidance intentions) toward young children’s sexual curiosities. Specifically, the current research project aimed to examine whether Greek and Spanish pre-service early childhood educators’ views on sexuality education were linked to their behavioral intentions toward children’s sexual curiosities. The current research also examined whether conservative ideology (religiosity and right-wing political orientation) moderates the link between educators’ views and their behavioral intentions. This study’s findings showed that educators’ views influence their behavioral intentions toward children’s curiosity about sexual issues. In addition, moderation analysis showed religiosity’s role in avoidance intention. This result provides evidence that there are theoretical and empirical grounds to assume that conservative worldviews (i.e., religiosity) significantly influence behavioral intentions concerning sexuality education. The theory of planned behavior not only represents the factors influencing intention but also provides an opportunity to comprehend the impacts of contextual and individual background elements that may be relevant to a particular behavior.

Idealized Past, Exclusivist Present: Right-wing Appropriation of the Decolonial Rhetoric in Malaysia

ABSTRACT Scholars have often assumed that a decolonial agenda would empower emancipatory and anti-racist movements. Nevertheless, there is also increasing recognition by scholars that the language of decolonization has been co-opted to support right-wing ideologies and majoritarian agendas, most prominently in India and Turkey. Similarly, in Malaysia, right-wing actors use decolonial rhetoric to criticize ethnic, religious, gender, and sexual minorities and silence their demands for equal rights. These actors have justified their intolerance by labelling any perceived threats to heteronormative Malay Muslim identity as examples of “Western imperialism” or “Chinese colonialism.” This article illustrates how decolonial vocabulary has been transformed into Sinophobia and homophobia by a right-wing Islamist group in Malaysia. It shows how revisionist nativist historiography, racism, and conspiracy theories can be integrated with moralistic calls for decolonization. Tracing developments over the past decade, the paper demonstrates how persistent dissemination, intellectual laundering, and innovative marketing strategies have helped mainstream a nativist Islamist decolonial agenda in Malaysia.

Conceptual Metaphors and Image Schemas in the conceptualization of Neoliberalism and Socialism in Presidential Inauguration Speeches. An infometric approach

Introduction: This study explores how neoliberalism and socialism are conceptualized through image schemas in political discourse. These conceptual frameworks are best analyzed using the Conceptual Metaphor Theory, specifically its analytical tool of image schemas. The metaphorical structures identified in the analyzed texts reflect a polarized stance, particularly opposing right-wing ideologies. Neoliberalism is metaphorically framed as something negative, associated with darkness, evil, and positioned downward. Objective: To analyze how neoliberalism and socialism are conceptualized in political discourse using image schemas. Methods: The study employed a bibliographic review to collect and analyze political texts, focusing on metaphorical language. Articles were selected based on relevance and discarded if they lacked clear metaphorical usage or did not align with the research focus. The analysis utilized the Conceptual Metaphor Theory to identify image schemas in the discourse. Development: The study highlights that the conceptual metaphors present in political discourse shape public perception by framing neoliberalism as inherently negative, using metaphors of darkness and downward movement. Conversely, socialism is portrayed through positive metaphors, symbolizing light and upward movement. This metaphorical polarization reflects broader societal and political divisions, where language reinforces ideological opposition. Conclusions: The study concludes that political discourse consistently uses conceptual metaphors to portray neoliberalism negatively and socialism positively. These metaphors contribute to reinforcing ideological divisions, emphasizing the role of language in shaping political perspectives. The objective of understanding these conceptualizations was met through the identification of recurring metaphorical patterns

Explaining Support for Border Closures During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Exposure, Political Attitudes, or Pandemic Policy Feedback?

Abstract The closing of national borders was one of the most far-reaching policy measures adopted to limit the spread of the virus during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Despite its unprecedented nature and far-reaching impact on individual lives, blocking almost all human movements not only into but also out of states, popular support for this measure was surprisingly high. How can this support be explained? Using an original 4-wave panel dataset across 11 countries together with cross-national policy data, we explore individual and contextual drivers of border closure support throughout 2020. We find that higher support can partly be explained by political attitudes related to cross-border mobility, such as distrust in foreigners or right-wing ideology. Primarily, however, support for closing borders is shaped by respondents’ evaluation of governments’ handling of the pandemic, as well as the intensity and timing of the constraining measures. We also find that support wanes over time, which may indicate a policy fatigue effect. Interestingly, health concerns (exposure to the virus) have almost no influence on support. Even in this exceptional situation, and when confronted with a new policy issue, citizens’ preferences are thus primarily a politically driven response to government measures.

Right-wing ideology fuels bias against sex trafficking victims: the mediating role of sexism

ABSTRACT The authors examined the relationship between right-wing beliefs and problematic attitudes towards victims of sex trafficking (ST). Study one used a cross-sectional survey (N = 444) to study the relationship between political orientation, right-wing authoritarianism, and beliefs about sex trafficking within US and UK populations. Results demonstrated that participants who were right-wing and participants from the US were more likely to report problematic attitudes towards victims of sex trafficking. Study two (N = 126) used a vignette-design to examine whether the relationship between right-wing beliefs and negative attitudes towards a ST victim was mediated by conservative biases such as just world beliefs and sexism. Findings indicated that hostile sexism, but not benevolent sexism or just world beliefs, mediated the relationship between right-wing beliefs and negative ST victim attitudes. Implicationshighlight the need for public organisations to ensure that members of the criminal justice system are educated around common ST misconceptions.

Of sacred animals: the limits of animal rights activism and political veganism in India

ABSTRACT In India, the rise of right-wing politics in the form of what Sahana Udupa terms 'enterprise Hindutva' has triggered conflicting reactions to everyday incidents, highlighting the need for a new language to address unique problems faced by vegans and animal rights activists whose politics clash with Hindutva's anti-secular discourse. 'Sacred animals' as a conceptual framework provides an important entry point into the culturally specific socio-political tensions behind complexities that limit the possibilities of viable intersectional standpoints that engage animal rights activism and political veganism. From a postsecular perspective, the relevance and unique challenges of these movements in India are evaluated, noting that existing posthumanist theories fail to address these new issues adequately. Incidents of mob lynching and violence by the cow vigilantes are recontextualized as structural symptoms instead of sporadic occurrences. The backlash against rightist tendencies has given a critical validation to irrational disregard for political veganism and animal rights activism, based on their perceived alignment with right-wing ideology. Examining food politics around beef, mockery of vegetarianism, and everyday situations where 'veg' becomes a tag of inferior quality, this study challenges unfounded associations and assumptions that undermine the disruptive potential of animal rights activism.

Does the balance matter? The gender within government and municipal indebtedness

PurposeIt was to investigate whether gender diversity – gender balance – within political municipal government teams affected the municipal indebtedness. Government ideology, the gender of the mayor and the wealth of the municipal environment were considered as moderators.Design/methodology/approachWe used GMM estimators on two dynamic models and a sample of 144 Spanish municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants for the period 2013–2022.FindingsGender diversity within government teams reduces the municipal debt. Furthermore, the government right-wing ideology and the female gender of the mayor are robust moderators of the effects of the gender diversity within government teams on institutional indebtedness.Research limitations/implicationsThe differences in financial autonomy and powers to apply public policies by municipalities in the different countries, as well as some differential aspects within the right-wing ideological spectrum, may condition our findings. Within relational demography, gender diversity impacts municipal performance, opening the way to explore other relations in future research.Practical implicationsThe tendency to implement legislation to try to achieve high gender balances within political decision-making bodies generates higher gender diversity, and our research shows that it leads to a better financial performance, a matter of transcendental importance for EU, credit rating agencies, and lenders.Originality/valueThis study provides new knowledge about the effect of gender within political decision-making bodies on municipal budgetary management. It is the first research analysing the impact of gender balance in the strict sense within decision-making bodies on municipal indebtedness.

Does the gender dissimilarity of female mayors with their political government team affect municipalities’ budgets? Evidence from Spain

ABSTRACT Recent research has considered whether the growing presence of women in political institutions has affected public budgets. This study takes a different gender perspective. The aim is to assess how gender dissimilarity between female mayors and their government teams can affect municipal budgetary policies. We use data from Spanish municipalities with more than 20,000 inhabitants in the period from 2004 to 2018, a dynamic regression model and take into account the possible moderating effect of ideology. Our main findings are that gender dissimilarity of female mayors increased current social spending and reduced nonsocial spending in line with female gender preferences, while it decreased tax revenues. However, when we analyze only the years of economic growth, we observe that the gender dissimilarity of female mayors increased tax revenue in accordance with their gender preferences. We also see that the interaction between right-wing ideology and the dissimilarity of female mayors substantially and significantly accentuated the decrease in nonsocial spending. We confirm our findings in different population segments.

Influence of hate speech about refugees in search algorithms on political attitudes: An online experiment

This article assesses the effects of hate speech compared to positive and neutral content about refugees in search engines on trust and policy preferences through a survey experiment in Germany. The study uncovers that individuals with an extreme-right political ideology become more hostile toward refugees after being exposed to refugee-related hate speech in search queries. Moreover, politically biased search engines erode trust similarly to politicized sources like politicians, and positively and negatively biased content is trusted less than neutral content. However, individuals with a right political ideology trust more hate speech content than individuals with a left-wing ideology. Individuals with right-wing ideology are also almost three times as likely to intend to click on hate speech suggestions compared to left-wing counterparts.

How and why aversive personality is expressed in political preferences.

Political orientation reflects beliefs, opinions, and values that are, at least in part, rooted in stable interindividual differences. Whereas evidence has accumulated with regard to the relevance of basic personality dimensions, especially concerning the sociocultural dimension of political ideology, less attention has been paid to the more specific dispositional tendency to assign a higher weight to one's own utility above others' (i.e., socially aversive personality), which is likely to play a pivotal role concerning the economic dimension of political ideology in particular. In three studies with over 66,000 participants from 38 countries, we show that individuals with elevated levels in aversive personality tend to endorse more right-wing political orientations in terms of a single left-right dimension, hold relevant ideological beliefs tied to both sociocultural and economic conservatism, and report corresponding electoral voting behavior. We further provide support for the idea that this overlap between a dispositional tendency toward aversive behavior and a right-wing political orientation can be attributed to shared belief systems. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Tradwives: Right-Wing Social Media Influencers

Globalizing anti-globalism and modernizing the anti-modern, Tradwives are communities of right-wing women who commercialize social media to commodify traditional heteronormative renditions of femininity that are equal parts ideology and aesthetic. As social media influencers, Tradwives grow social networks and expand audiences by monetizing right-wing ideologies and curating particular versions of wife and mother. A netnographic analysis designed to understand online cultures and communications was used to observe thirty-six Tradwife social media profiles over a 10-month period in 2022. Employing Koestler’s Theory of Holarchies, four key findings or “holons” comprised a holography or representation of Tradwife culture captured at a certain point in time. The Tradwife Landscape explored these women across a right-wing landscape, Cross-platform Influencers, outlined Tradwives operating across a variety of social media platforms; Feminine not Feminist, discussed Tradwives’ (anti)feminist standpoints; and The Tradwife Side-Hustle, examined the monetization of Tradwife culture. As an alive and growing ecosystem, Tradwife subculture offers supportive and empowered spaces for women wishing to take up roles as archetypal wives and mothers within highly conservative lifestyles. As agents of Tradwife subculture and wider right-wing communities, Tradwives raise important questions about gender and gendered relationships, sexuality, legal practices, public policy, and political systems. Above all else, Tradwives offer comments on the autonomy and agency women have in their everyday lives.

Pollution, severe health conditions, and extreme right-wing ideology: A tale of three contemporary challenges

By exploiting the microgeography of local air pollution at the 1km-by-1 km grid-level, we link local air quality to the voting intentions of a nationally-representative sample of 27,000 UK residents. We find a causal link between air pollution and support for far-right parties: a unit increase in pollution leads to a 3% rise in the probability to support these parties. These intentions are stronger for lung disease and cancer sufferers.

Reinventing Budapest in a Post-Imperial Era: Symbolic Landscapes of the City Between the Two World Wars

This article explores the ways interwar Budapest adapted to 20th-century challenges in a post-imperial context, highlighting the distinctive features of Budapest as a capital city during the decades following the fall of the Habsburg Monarchy and the subsequent breakup of historic Hungary. After reflecting on the historical background and making comparisons with other capital cities of the region, the investigation concentrates on the symbolic dimensions of urban space, showing how the dominant political ideologies of the interwar era were represented in the cityscape of Budapest. The designs of public spaces, street names, other toponyms, monuments, and memorials stand at the focus of the analysis, all interpreted as elements of an attempt to transform the city’s space into a coherent symbolic landscape. It is an important goal to highlight the continuities and discontinuities between the pre– and post–World War I period. Meanwhile, the study also pays attention to the factors that had little to do with the official ideologies of the day, namely, the changing paradigms of urban planning and architecture, the role of market forces and municipal endeavors, and the possibilities of public versus private real estate development. It concludes that Budapest was characterized by a striking dichotomy of tradition and modernity during the interwar period: while conservative worldviews and various shades of right-wing ideologies exerted a strong influence on the public space, radically modern architectural forms and new patterns of urbanity appeared as well, all simultaneously shaping the city.

The politics of red meat consumption and climate change

Red meat production is one of the leading sources of carbon dioxide emission thus reducing meat production and consumption is crucial. Using a sample of American adults (n = 456), the link between right-wing sociopolitical ideologies and (i) attitudes towards red meat; (ii) willingness to reduce red meat consumption; (iii) willingness to pay more for red meat; (iv) belief about the impact of red meat consumption on the environment; and (v) and distrust (versus trust) of authorities was examined. Right-wing ideologies (i.e. right-wing-authoritarianism and social dominance orientation) were associated with more positive attitudes towards red meat, unwillingness to consume less red meat or pay more for red meat, disbelief that red meat negatively impacts the environment, and greater distrust of information from authorities that propose a link between red meat production and negative environmental impact. However, results varied by political ideology dimension. Findings suggest that attempts to alter peoples’ red meat consumption—as part of a strategy for tackling climate change—must incorporate a nuanced understanding of the impact of sociopolitical ideologies on attitudes towards red meat consumption and the need to raise awareness about its impact on the environment.

Political (ab)use of the internet- Facebook in hands of Serbian right-wing

This paper explores the role the digital platform Facebook plays in mediating the operational dynamics of extreme right organizations in Serbia. Emphasizing the functional potential of this digital platform, we delve into its capacity to disseminate information, propagate political goals, mobilize members, construct collective identities, and orchestrate actions among right-wing extremists in Serbia. As political activism continues to thrive in the online sphere, and with the right-wing ideologies gaining increasing prominence in the last three decades, our study seeks to shed light on the essential role of the Internet in shaping these dynamic processes. The paper presents findings from a comprehensive qualitative and quantitative analysis of two Facebook pages, affiliated with one formal and one informal far-right political organization -Serbian Right and Serbian Honor. The objective is to gain insights into the different strategies employed by political organizations in utilizing digital platforms.

Conspiracy beliefs and negative attitudes towards outgroups in times of crises: Experimental evidence from Germany.

While research on the determinants of conspiracy beliefs has been growing, there is still limited attention given to the broader consequences of conspiracy theories. This study examines the effects of conspiratorial framing on outgroup evaluations in the context of societal crises. Using an experimental design and a large representative sample of the German population, we exposed participants to conspiratorial framings of health, economic, and security crisis scenarios. The findings reveal that exposure to conspiratorial framing of crises leads to significantly more negative attitudes towards outgroups compared to control conditions. The impact is most pronounced in the security crisis treatment condition, particularly in war scenarios. Additionally, our study demonstrates the important role of political ideology, as individuals with left- as well as right-wing ideologies displayed more negative attitudes towards outgroups when exposed to conspiratorial framings of crises. These findings contribute to the literature by providing experimental evidence of the detrimental effects of conspiracy narratives on intergroup attitudes during crises.

Interculturalism and the ‘Ideological Turn’ of Diversity Politics

ABSTRACT This article critically examines how ideology permeates the politics of diversity today and is forcing us to clarify political positions towards a much more intercultural approach to diversity. At a time when the demographic argument is gaining momentum in the US, Europe, and other continents, with neo-colonial beliefs of white supremacy and irrational fears of the ‘Great replacement’ movement, the diversity politics debate is becoming strongly polarized. In this ‘ideological turn’ diversity emerges as a political option rather than a by-product of the globalization processes. Going beyond the multicultural/intercultural debate, this article represents a step forward by highlighting the specificities of interculturalism and how these distinctive features can be considered today as strategic resources for revitalizing the left's position on diversity politics. As a normative and political ideology, interculturalism may have the potential to shape diversity as a new public culture and implement the scale shift of citizenship from a state to a more urban intercultural citizenship. Theorizing these features from the left would certainly help to reduce right-wing ideologies that foster a strong reluctance to diversity.

Queers and Right-wing Ideology: Case Study of Serbia

The systematic exclusion of trans people from society vividly demonstrates the oppression faced by marginalised groups. These patterns of discrimination are also seen in instances of hatred towards women or non-heterosexual individuals. Within the queer community, trans people are particularly vulnerable and are often the target of conservative and right-wing movements. It is crucial to acknowledge that the oppression of one group can have a domino effect on the entire LGBTIQ+ community. It is noteworthy that patterns of oppression cannot be observed in isolation, since neoliberal policies tend to fragment solidarity and our common struggles. Despite not being immediately apparent, the entire queer community suffers the consequences of the exclusion of trans people. Similarly, policies of segregation and exclusion based on sexual orientation and gender identity have broader consequences, which may also impact the rights and freedoms of heterosexual cisgender individuals. Right-wing policies and ideology tend to spread, and this can be seen in the example of Serbia, where institutional and non-institutional levels witness increased activity of right-wing groups.