Understanding far-right mobilization in hybrid regimes matters. It tells a story about collective action in the most common regime type in the world. But it may also tell a more universal story about far-right politics in times of uncertainty. 9/9

With more countries autocratizing than ever, democracies are hardly immune to uncertainty either. The 2008 financial crisis, 2015 asylum crisis, and COVID have shown that more uncertainty can prompt unpredictable party behavior and mainstreaming of far-right ideas in democracies too. 8/9

What does this mean? Contrary to overoptimistic expectations in the 1990s, democracy does not gradually increase with each passing year. Political uncertainty also fluctuates, rather than necessarily declining over time. 7/9

The results show the above described two mechanisms in action: the far right in hybrid regimes a) is not necessarily moderated by electoral success, and b) may have more agenda-setting power. 6/9

To explore these arguments empirically, I draw on evidence from two cases of far-right mobilization in hybrid regimes: 🇬🇪 and 🇺🇦 I analyzed 5000+ media articles to trace mobilization in elections and on the streets over two decades. 5/9

2. In democracies, parties tend to be accountable towards voters, making them ideologically consistent. Yet in hybrid regimes, ideologically flexible parties operating in volatile party systems may be more open to coopting far-right ideas. 4/9

1. In democracies, far-right electoral success moderates street-level protest. But in hybrid regimes, where representation does not equal influence, parties may still prioritize protest irrespective of electoral success. 3/9

But can we rely on democracy-oriented theories to explain mobilization in non-democracies? Are these theories generalizable? Synthesizing literatures on the far right and hybrid regimes, I propose two arguments about how and why regime type may be influential: 2/9

The final paper of my PhD is now out in @democratization.bsky.social! I ask how and why regime type impacts far-right mobilization. My starting point was a paradox: the far right is global, yet most of what we know about it comes from research on a handful of countries in Western Europe 1/9

Join us for the first webinar of this academic year: @sabinedvolk.bsky.social will talk about ethnographic methods in researching the far right!