Populism and Immigration in the European Union

The main purpose of this article is to assess the relationship between populism and immigration in the European Union. Based on an literature review on the current state of populist movements in the EU as well as on the findings of a comparative fieldwork conducted in five European countries (Germany, France, Italy, Greece and the Netherlands) between mid-March and late-May 2017, the article seeks to understand and explain the relevance of the debates on migration, refugees, mobility and Islam on the rise of extreme right-wing populism.1 The article starts with the depiction of the very substance of the populist rhetoric in Europe vis-à-vis migrants and refugees, which is based on the reiteration of a Manichean understanding of the world polarizing the public between “us” and “them”. Then, the content of the right-wing populist rhetoric will be analysed further looking at the social-economic, political and cultural drivers of populist extremism, the resentment against diversity, multiculturalism, Islam, immigration and mobility among the supporters of populist parties in five selected European countries.