The populist radical right in Australia

Abstract

This article examines one of the longest-standing populist radical right parties outside of Europe: Pauline Hanson’s One Nation. The article outlines the party’s development and position in the Australian political landscape, before explaining how it articulates the ideological features of the PRR (nativism, authoritarianism and populism); how these interact; and in what ways this differs from European PRR parties. It shows that the party has steadfastly remained focused on targeting outgroups – immigrants, asylum seekers, Asians, Muslims, and First Nations Peoples, amongst others – rather than clearly defining its ingroup – ‘ordinary Australians’ – and considers the role of Australia’s settler-colonial history and geographical context in this. It then analyses how the party has broadened its platform in recent years by engaging with gender identity, vaccine mandates, climate change scepticism and sovereign-citizen issues; before explaining the factors that have prevented it from achieving the success of many European PRR parties.