In 2017, the far right populist, transnational movement “Generation Identity” (GI) embarked on an activist “mission” in the Mediterranean Sea to stop non-European migrants from reaching the European continent. This paper presents a study of how GI was able to do so, analysing the empowering network of support that evolved during the movement’s “Defend Europe” campaign. Its relevance arises from the globally growing assertiveness of populist actors, cooperating and shaping international politics together. However, studies on party politics and international interactions prevail in research on global populism -this paper is the first one to raise the question of how far right populist social movements interact in transnational networks. Applying a resource mobilization approach and drawing on transnational advocacy theory, I attempt to answer this question with a single case study on the German GI-branch’s networking activities during the Defend Europe campaign. The relational data collected shows that far right populists, too, engage in transnational advocacy efforts, and it appears that their populism does not visibly determine how their networks function. Rather, GI’s activism in “defensive mode” seems decisive for the movement’s transnational networking practices, limiting its possibilities to gain in political and societal influence.

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The following document is a meta-commentary on the article "Decanting the Rabelaisian Casks: Democratizing Neoplatonic Poetic Fury in Baudelaire's 'L’âme du vin'," co-authored by Dr. Robert J. Hudson and myself, which will soon be submitted for publication. It contains an annotated bibliography of all our primary and secondary sources and an account of the genesis of the argument and the writing of the article. Our article is based upon an analysis of "‘L’âme du vin," the threshold poem of "Le Vin," the central section of Charles Baudelaire's celebrated volume Les Fleurs du Mal. As we demonstrate, previous scholarship on this section is sparse and while certain poems within in have received attention from distinguished scholars, the integral part that it plays in the larger work has been downplayed, if not entirely neglected. Our reading of the poem allows for an explanation of the structure of the entire collection, illuminates Baudelaire's intended internal architecture, and elucidates his theory of poetic creation and aesthetic ideals more generally. As we demonstrate, the transition from the Parisian commoner in "Tableaux parisiens" to the transcendent poet in "Fleurs du mal" requires the transformation provided by the intoxication in "Le Vin" which lends itself to divine fury and attainment of transcendence in and ascension to the sonnets of the "Fleurs du mal." Our development of this conclusion comes through a study of Baudelaire's employment of Neoplatonic theories and images and adoption of Rabelais' Gallic codification of these Neoplatonic tropes. "‘L’âme du vin" illustrates the essence of Baudelaire's progressive populist thought previous to the Revolution of 1848, by rendering permanent the inversion of social order found in the Rabelaisian/Bakhtinian carnavalesque. The Neoplatonic ladder to transcendence, based on Plato's four stages of divine fury, and systemized by Renaissance thinkers Marsilio Ficino and Pontus de Tyard, is tipped, or thrown, on its side in Baudelaire's work, demonstrating not only the overthrow of the hierarchy of the Old Regime, but the solidification of the humanization of the common, working man, the premier venu or homme de la rue, and the ability of the least of society, rather than the members of the nobility or leisured class of centuries past, to access divine fury and poetic transcendence by imbibing, integrating, and appreciating the soul of wine.

Given the tendency of Populist Radical Right (PRR) parties to form anti-LGBTQ+ claims, this thesis aims to understand how a PRR party operating in a context characterized by progressive values relates to LGBTQ+ topics in their political messages on social media. A single case study of the Sweden Democrats (SD) – an example of a PRR party operating in such a context – was conducted. Idea analysis, which included the concepts of homonationalism and heteroactivism, was performed on 44 posts published during the year following the 2022 election on the social media platform X by politicians representing the SD in the national parliament. The results show that the SD pursued a homonationalist discourse in that they advocated LGBTQ+ rights to oppose Islam in general and Muslim integration in Sweden in particular. However, when the SD solely focused on the Swedish domestic context, LGBTQ+ rights were not promoted, but rather heteronormativity was favored above non-normative relationships, gender identities, and gender expressions. Thus, the results suggest that the SD took part in heteroactivism. Moreover, while the SD avoided outspoken homophobic statements, transphobic ideas were evident. Hence, the SD adapted to the Swedish context by performing a balancing act where they weighed the expression of heteronormative ideals against the potential loss of acceptance from a public supporting LGBTQ+ rights. Altogether, these results contribute to research on PRR parties operating in contexts characterized by progressive values as well as research on the SD concerning LGBTQ+ topics.

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In 2010, the populist radical right party the Sweden Democrats were voted into the Swedish parliament, which rattled the mainstream parties. The Sweden Democrats’ stance on migration policy was clear from the start, with their MPs promoting a radical decrease, if not a complete stop, to all immigration. This thesis aims to expand the existing research about populism in Sweden and contribute to the field of political science by analysing the general policy debates on migration policy held after the entry of the Sweden Democrats into parliament. The study examines the debates to get answers to several questions: What do politicians think is the main problem with migration policy over the years and how are the problems represented? Is it possible to find indications of populism during the debates and are there signs of the Sweden Democrats' discourse being normalized? Are there any discursive shifts made by the mainstream parties and is there a hegemonic discourse visible throughout the debates? The results show four dominating problem representations on the topic of migration over the years, with the problem representation of the Sweden Democrats gaining support from the Liberals and the Christian Democrats in the debate of 2018. Tendencies of normalization of the Sweden Democrats’ discourse are also detectable in the 2018 debate, as well as some discursive shifts by mainstream parties. A hegemonic discourse is visible during the 2010 and 2014 debates, but it has lost its hegemonic position during the 2018 debate.

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The rise of the populist parties in last decades throughout the Europe provide the ground for researches and studies. The recent success of Sweden Democrats (SD) in Swedish 2014 elections, and getting third major party position has been subjected to several studies. The present study for the dramatic rise of Sweden Democrats (SD), is based on the analysis of economical and cultural factors to find out this success, provides an analytical basis for understanding the reasons behind this phenomenon. This study tests two hypotheses by statistical data analysis, and analyses the economic and cultural perspectives by scholarly literature and provide new findings by testing these hypotheses. The study provides outcomes that reasons for the rise of Sweden Democrats (SD) in Swedish society lies somewhere in economic conditions and cultural diversity intolerance.