Populism on the Far Right: Concepts and Critiques

The 2026 annual conference of the DVPW Working Group on Populism, organized in Managing Director Research collaboration with the Institute for Research on Far Right Extremism (IRex) at the University of Tübingen, specifically with the Research Unit on Political Actors and Ideologies, led by Contact: Eberhard Karls University Tübingen Institute for Research on Far Right Extremism Geschwister Scholl Platz D-72074 Tübingen Léonie de Jonge, responds to the continued salience of far-right actors, parties, movements, and discourses across democratic and authoritarian settings alike. Over the past decade, research on the far right has frequently intersected with the concept of populism. Many influential studies have analysed far-right mobilization through the lens of populism, while others have questioned whether populism remains an analytically useful or normatively desirable concept for understanding contemporary far-right politics. Debates persist over whether populism clarifies, obscures, normalizes, or depoliticizes exclusionary and authoritarian projects. Against this backdrop, we invite contributions that critically examine the relationship between populism and the far right. We welcome theoretical, conceptual, empirical, historical, comparative, and methodological perspectives that engage with the promises and limits of the populism concept in research on the far right.

Possible themes include, but are not limited to:

• Normative and ethical questions of terminology: Does labelling far-right actors as “populist” risk sanitizing racism, antisemitism, misogyny, authoritarianism, or political violence? Under what conditions is the term analytically illuminating, and when might it be misleading?
• Comparative and global perspectives: How does the populism-far right nexus vary across regions, regime types, and historical contexts? What can be learned from comparisons beyond Europe and North America?
• Gender, sexuality, and anti-feminist politics: How are gendered narratives mobilized within populist discourses of the far right? What roles do anti-feminism, opposition to LGBTQ+ rights, “family values”, masculinism, and moral panic play in constructing “the people” and defining internal or external enemies?

We invite submissions of abstracts of max. 250 words, alongside with institutional affiliation and a biographical note before 15 June 2026 to: populismus(at)dvpw.de. Acceptance decisions will be communicated shortly after the submission deadline.

We aim for a broad range of contributions from scholars at all career stages and from adjacent disciplines. We welcome both completed research and work in progress. Membership in the German Political Science Association (DVPW) is not required.

This is planned as a hybrid event; participants may choose if they wish to take part online or offline. We would like to apologize that participants must cover travel and accommodation costs themselves. The workshop itself is free of charge and coffee breaks will be provided.

We look forward to welcoming participants to Tübingen in September 2026!

Sabine Volk (local host), Vlad Budejca, Teresa Jopson, Seongcheol Kim, Sami Soda, Co-convenors of the DVPW Working Group on Populism, Contact: populismus(at)dvpw.de.

Call for Papers (PDF)