NATIONALIST OR NATIVIST POLITICS? CASE STUDY OF THE DANISH PEOPLE’S PARTY

Abstract

Radical right-wing European parties are developing politics of resistance, criticism, and a certain amount of backlash, either towards European integration or, more broadly, towards globalisation. Nonetheless, and as addressed in this article, the question is in what context do radical right-wing parties pursue these policies? Is it a national backlash or an attempt at cultural reproduction in an era of acculturation within multiple civil societies of the European Union (EU)? In becoming more transnational in terms of customs, capital, and people flowing across borders, it is becoming increasingly difficult to analyse radical right-wing European politics via modern nationalism. For this very reason, this article attempts to clarify the politics of the radical right via nativism, thereby opening a debate about the native and non-native within the European context. The article supports this hypothesis with the case study of the Danish Peoples Party (DPP). According to the findings reported in this article, the nativist politics pursued by the DPP exceeds the ordinary definition of 'nation,' defining both 'Danishness' and 'Europeaness' in terms of nativism in Europe, rather than in terms of nationalism.