Becoming a young radical right activist: Biographical pathways of the members of radical right organisations in Poland and Germany

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cris.lastimport.scopus2025-12-16T04:12:56Z
dc.abstract.enWith the increasing popularity of the radical right, much research has tried to explain the motives of voters. Less attention has been paid to the motives of people to become radical right activists – specifically young people, a group with a high tendency to join right-wing parties. Within the context of the internationalisation of the radical right, this article draws on 28 narrative interviews between 2019 and 2021 with young radical right activists in Poland and Germany, two countries with considerably different political and discursive opportunity structures. We propose to recognise a new motive for becoming involved in political activism: career-oriented individual self-realisation in Germany, as opposed to fulfilling a duty to the nation in Poland. While we identify two different types of radical activism within the different contexts – the anti-establishment populist career type in Germany and the anti-political intellectualism/elitism type in Poland – they both point to the normalisation of the radical right in the two countries.
dc.affiliationInstytut Nauk Społecznych
dc.contributor.authorMyrczik, Janina
dc.contributor.authorKajta, Justyna
dc.contributor.authorBuckenleib, Arthur
dc.contributor.authorKarolak, Mateusz
dc.contributor.authorLiedtke, Marius
dc.contributor.authorMrozowicki, Adam
dc.contributor.authorTrappmann, Vera
dc.date.access2025-08-08
dc.date.accessioned2025-08-08T12:18:06Z
dc.date.available2025-08-08T12:18:06Z
dc.date.created2024
dc.date.issued2025-08
dc.description.abstract<jats:p> With the increasing popularity of the radical right, much research has tried to explain the motives of voters. Less attention has been paid to the motives of people to become radical right activists – specifically young people, a group with a high tendency to join right-wing parties. Within the context of the internationalisation of the radical right, this article draws on 28 narrative interviews conducted between 2019 and 2021 with young radical right activists in Poland and Germany, two countries with considerably different political and discursive opportunity structures. We propose to recognise a new motive for becoming involved in political activism: career-oriented individual self-realisation in Germany, as opposed to fulfilling a duty to the nation in Poland. While we identify two different types of radical activism within the different contexts – the <jats:italic>(nationalist) anti-establishment populist career</jats:italic> type in Germany and the <jats:italic>(nationalist) anti-political intellectualism/elitism</jats:italic> type in Poland – they both point to the normalisation of the radical right in the two countries. </jats:p>
dc.description.accesstimeat_publication
dc.description.additionalvorProszę o dodanie w autorach listy autorów spoza SWPS: Janina Myrczik, Arthur Buckenleib, Mateusz Karolak, Marius Liedtke, Adam Mrozowicki, Vera Trappmann
dc.description.issue5
dc.description.physical754-775
dc.description.versionfinal_author
dc.description.volume73
dc.identifier.doi10.1177/00113921241239644
dc.identifier.issn0011-3921
dc.identifier.issn1461-7064
dc.identifier.urihttps://share.swps.edu.pl/handle/swps/1638
dc.languageen
dc.pbn.affiliationnauki socjologiczne
dc.rightsOther
dc.rights.questionYes_rights
dc.share.articleOPEN_REPOSITORY
dc.subject.enBiographical research
dc.subject.encomparative analysis
dc.subject.ennationalism
dc.subject.enradical right
dc.subject.enyouth activism
dc.swps.sciencecloudnosend
dc.titleBecoming a young radical right activist: Biographical pathways of the members of radical right organisations in Poland and Germany
dc.title.journalCurrent Sociology
dc.typeJournalArticle
dspace.entity.typeArticle