Exploring the role of university education in reducing the appeal of right-wing populism

Abstract

Why are university-educated ethnic majority men less likely to support right-wing populism (RWP) than those without university education? To investigate this under-researched question, we conducted an exploratory study using semistructured interviews and thematic analysis with white Australian men from different socioeconomic backgrounds. While some with university education supported RWP, their views aligned with a moderate version of the ideology. Student/graduate supporters of RWP were opposed to hiring practices designed to support gender and ethnic equity. Students/graduates who experienced contact with Others were generally more positive about diversity, but this was not always the case for non-university participants. While students/graduates with RWP leanings tended to see university as a politically biased institution, concerns about political correctness were widespread across the sample. Significantly, numerous students/graduates experienced university education as promoting a pluralist outlook, and this outlook appears fundamentally incompatible with the monist tendencies of RWP ideology. However, findings also suggest that university education is not the only route to a pluralist outlook, nor does it always lead to a rejection of RWP. Hence, developing a pluralist outlook may be more important than university education in reducing the appeal of RWP. The implications of these exploratory findings for future research are discussed.