Cohort: POLS 40
Topic of the thesis: Will This Anxiety Be Useful to You Someday? Ontological Insecurity Between Populist Radical Right and Extreme Right Violence
Abstract: The relationship between the uncertainty stemming from crises and the success of the far-right is usually interpreted through a causal mechanism. However, even though these two phenomena often coincide, a causal linkage cannot explain why insecurity and adversities do not always produce a rise of the far-right. It is indeed puzzling that, despite similar sociopolitical contexts that trigger so-called ontological insecurity, some countries experience the success of the populist radical right (composed of potentially illiberal democratic parties) and the rise of the far right (overtly anti-democratic and including violent and revolutionary movements). Instead, while under similar socioeconomic conditions, other countries experience only the success of the populist radical right or the extreme right. Therefore, through a comparative analysis of Italy and Spain, this research explores why similar socioeconomic conditions yield different far-right support and violence patterns. To do so, it uses the basis of ontological insecurity theory to unravel, through surveys, how sociopsychological factors influence populist radical right or extreme right support and how they lead to political violence. Through content analysis, the project also seeks to determine which elements of domestic politics hinder or encourage extreme right violent episodes. Results would contribute to a deeper understanding of the mechanisms through which ontological insecurity influences far-right dynamics and offer insights for developing effective radicalisation-prevention strategies.
Research interests: Populism; Euroscepticism; far-right; incels; conspiracy theories; social philosophy
Graduated from: Vita-Salute San Raffaele University (BA); Maastricht University (MSc)
Degrees obtained: BA in Philosophy; Research Master in European Studies
E-mail address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
