The Czech Right-Wing Party “Freedom and Direct Democracy” and Its Response to the Russian-Ukrainian War
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: The Czech Republic, since the beginning of the undeclared war of the Russian Federation against our state, has become one of the strongest supporters of Ukraine among the countries of the European Union. However, not all of Czech society and not all Czech political institutions, primarily political parties, adhere to this position. There are significant discursive opportunities for populist right-wing radical actors on the political landscape. The author analyzed the policies of the populist right-wing radical party "Freedom and Direct Democracy" (сzech: Svoboda a přímá demokracie – SPD), focused on how the party positions itself, to gain the support of the electorate, taking into account new public sentiments. A content analysis of the publications of party leader Tomio Okamura revealed, that after an initial strong rejection of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the party returned to pro-Russian narratives, by incorporating war into their populist nativist discourse, propaganda of ideas of social chauvinism and economic protectionism. The results of public opinion polls show that that party supporters criticize economic support for Ukraine and refugees, demonstrate a fairly positive attitude towards the Russian Federation, compared to the electorate of other political forces.
Author: Tetiana Fedorchak
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4407775572