Professor Daphne Halikiopoulou
Chair in Comparative Politics

Research

Overview

Daphne’s research lies at the intersection of nationalism studies, voting behaviour and comparative European party politics. She examines far-right populism at the demand, supply and policy levels, engaging with questions of central importance for democratic politics.

In terms of demand, Daphne’s work focuses on the heterogeneity of the far-right voter pool and the important distinction between galvanising the far right core constituency on the one hand, and mobilising more broadly beyond this core constituency on the other. The key message here is that, to increase their electoral chances, far right parties must mobilise grievances beyond culture. One common thread that links this research is the idea that certain factors that we may consider ‘deterrents’ of far right party support- for example political trust- or motivators of far right party support- for example economic or security threats- may actually have a differentiated effect on individual voters. See:

• ‘When economic and cultural interests align: The anti-immigration voter coalitions driving far right party success in Europe’ (with Tim Vlandas), European Political Science Review
• ‘Birds of a feather? Assessing the prevalence of anti-immigration attitudes among the far-right electorate’, (with Daniel Stockemer and Tim Vlandas), Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies
• ‘What is new and what is nationalist about Europe’s new nationalism? Explaining the rise of the far right in Europe’(with Tim Vlandas), Nations & Nationalism
• ‘Breaching the social contract: crises of democratic representation and patterns of extreme right party support’ (with Sofia Vasilopoulou), Government and Opposition

In terms of supply, Daphne’s research focuses on the successful multi-dimensional appeals far right parties make by using civic nationalist narratives to frame their exclusionary policies. Instead of shielding societies from right-wing extremism, civic nationalism paradoxically, offers it a platform through which it can attract voters. By excluding on ideological rather than biological rationalizations of national belonging these parties redefine the boundaries between national communities and others in seemingly liberal terms. The success of Greek Golden Dawn in the aftermath of the economic crisis, a party which adopted ethnic nationalism, was an exception to this pattern. See:

• ‘The Paradox of Nationalism: The common denominator of radical right and radical left Euroscepticism’ (with Kyriaki Nanou and Sofia Vasilopoulou), European Journal of Political Research
• ‘The civic Zeitgeist: nationalism and liberal values in the European radical right’ (with Sofia Vasilopoulou and Steven Mock), Nations & Nationalism
• ‘The Golden Dawn’s Nationalist Solution’ (with Sofia Vasilopoulou), Springer/Palgrave MacMillan
• ‘Enemies of liberty? Nationalism, immigration, and the framing of terrorism in the agenda of the Front National’ (with Rachel Hutchins), Nations & Nationalism
• ‘Right-wing populism as a nationalist vision of legitimating collective choice: a supply-side perspective’, International Spectator
• ‘Populism and nationalism in a comparative perspective: a scholarly exchange’ (with Bart Bonikowski, Eric Kaufmann and Matthijs Rooduijn), Nations and Nationalism

At the policy level, Daphne’s research focuses on the extent to which welfare state policies may serve as an effective remedy for far-right party support by preventing the far right from forging voter alliances. The key argument is that welfare state policies reduce the likelihood of supporting the far right among individuals exposed to high risks including the unemployed, pensioners, low-income workers, employees on temporary contracts, individuals in large families and individuals who are disabled/permanently sick. See:

• ‘Risks, Costs and Labour Markets: Explaining cross-national patterns of far right-wing party success in European Parliament Elections’ (with Tim Vlandas), Journal of Common Market Studies- awarded ‘Best Paper’ from the American Political Association (APSA)
• ‘Does unemployment matter? Economic insecurity, labour market policies and the far right vote in Europe’ (with Tim Vlandas), European Political Science
• ‘Welfare state policies and far right party support: moderating ‘insecurity effects' among different social groups’ (with Tim Vlandas), West European Politics

Going forward, Daphne continues to pursue her research on the various demand and supply-side dimensions of far-right party support. She is also extending the focus of her research in the following ways:

• Capturing far right populist dynamics beyond Europe: her comparative article ‘Multiple routes to immigration scepticism: The association between individual grievances and anti-immigrant attitudes in Canada, Germany and the USA’ (with Daniel Stockemer) was published in International Migration in January 2023.
• Researching broader challenges to democratic politics: in 2022 she published ‘The centre-periphery divide and attitudes towards climate change measures among Western Europeans’ (with Christoph Arndt and Christos Vrakopoulos), Environmental Politics, which focuses on the spatial dimension of opposition to climate change measures. She is currently working on a new article on how this opposition is fuelling an urban-rural divide in Europe, dividing the left and boosting support for right-wing populism.

Publications

Selected publications

Books

• 2015. Vasilopoulou, S. & Halikiopoulou, D., The Golden Dawn’s nationalist Solution: Explaining the Rise of the Far Right in Greece, New York: Palgrave.
• 2015. Halikiopoulou, D. and S. Vasilopoulou, The Golden Dawn’s nationalist Solution: Explaining the Rise of the Far Right in Greece, Greek Translation, Thessaloniki: Epikentro
• 2011. Halikiopoulou, D., Patterns of Secularisation: Church, State and Nation in Greece and the Republic of Ireland, Ashgate, ISBN: 978-1-4094-0345

Refereed Journal Articles

• 2023. Stockemer, D.& Halikiopoulou, D. Multiple routes to immigration scepticism: The association between individual grievances and anti-immigrant attitudes in Canada, Germany and the USA. International Migration, 00, 1– 16. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/imig.13111
• 2022. Arndt, C., Halikiopoulou, D. and Vrakopoulos, C. The centre-periphery divide and attitudes towards climate change measures among Western Europeans, Environmental Politics. DOI: 10.1080/09644016.2022.2075155
• 2022. Vlandas, T. and Halikiopoulou. D. Welfare state policies and far right party support: moderating ‘insecurity effects' among different social groups, West European Politics, 45:1, pp.24-49
• 2021. Stockemer, D., D. Halikiopoulou & T. Vlandas, Birds of a feather? Assessing the prevalence of anti-immigration attitudes among the far-right electorate, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies,47:15, pp. 3409-3436
• 2020. Halikiopoulou, D., & Vlandas, T. When economic and cultural interests align: The anti-immigration voter coalitions driving far-right party success in Europe. European Political Science Review, 12(4), pp. 427-448.
• 2020. Hutchins, R. and Halikiopoulou, D. Enemies of liberty? Nationalism, immigration, and the framing of terrorism in the agenda of the Front National, Nations & Nationalism, 26:1, pp. 67– 84
• 2019. Bonikowski, B., Halikiopoulou, D., Kaufmann, E. and Rooduijn, M, Exchange on Nationalism and Populism, Nations & Nationalism, 25:1, pp. 58-81
• 2019. Halikiopoulou, D. Right-wing populism as a nationalist vision of legitimating collective choice: a supply-side perspective, International Spectator, 54:2
• 2019. Halikiopoulou, D. and Vlandas, T. What is new and what is nationalist about Europe’s new nationalism? Explaining the rise of the far right in Europe, Nations & Nationalism, 25:2, pp.409-434
• 2019. Vlandas, T. and Halikiopoulou, D., Does unemployment matter? Economic insecurity, labour market policies and the far right vote in Europe, European Political Science, Vol. 18, pp.421–438 
• 2018. Halikiopoulou, D. A Right‐wing Populist Momentum? A Review of 2017 Elections Across Europe. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, 56: pp. 63-73
• 2018. Halikiopoulou, D. and Vasilopoulou, S., Breaching the social contract: crises of democratic representation and patterns of extreme right party support, Government and Opposition, 53:1, pp.26-50
• 2016. Halikiopoulou, D. and Vlandas, T., Risks, Costs and Labour Markets: Explaining cross-national patterns of far right-wing party success in European Parliament Elections, Journal of Common Market Studies, 54:3, pp. 636- 655 Winner of 2016 APSA European Politics and Society Section Best Paper Award.
• 2015. Halikiopoulou, D. and Vlandas, T., The rise of the far right in debtor and creditor European countries: The Case of European Parliament Elections, The Political Quarterly, 86:2 pp. 279-288
• 2014. Halikiopoulou, D. and Vasilopoulou, S., Support for the Far Right in the 2014 European Parliament Elections: A Comparative Perspective. The Political Quarterly, 85:3, pp. 285–288.
• 2014. Vasilopoulou, S., Halikiopoulou, D. and Exadaktylos, T., Greece in Crisis: Austerity, Populism and the Politics of Blame. Journal of Common Market Studies, 52:2, pp. 388-402
• 2013. Halikiopoulou, D., Mock, S. And Vasilopoulou, S., The civic Zeitgeist: nationalism and liberal values in the European radical right, Nations & Nationalism, 19:1, pp.107-127
• 2013. Vasilopoulou, S. and Halikiopoulou, D., In the Shadow of Grexit: The Greek Election of 17 June 2012, South European Society and Politics, 18:4, pp.523-523
• 2012. Halikiopoulou, D., Nanou, K. and Vasilopoulou, S., The Paradox of Nationalism: The common denominator of radical right and radical left Euroscepticism, European Journal of Political Research, 51:4, pp. 504-539
• 2010. Halikiopoulou, D. And Vasilopoulou, S., Towards a ‘civic’ narrative: British National identity and the transformation of the BNP, Political Quarterly, 81:4, pp. 583-592
• 2008. Halikiopoulou, D., The Changing Dynamics of Religion and National Identity: Greece and the Republic of Ireland in a Comparative Perspective, Journal of Religion in Europe, 8:3, pp.302-328
• 2008. Asari, E.M., Halikiopoulou, D. And Mock, S., British National Identity and the Dilemmas of Multiculturalism, Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 14: 1, pp.1-28

Edited Volumes

• 2011.Halikiopoulou, D. and S. Vasilopoulou (eds.), Nationalism and Globalisation: Conflicting or Complementary? Oxon; New York: Routledge

Contribution: editor (50%), authorship of the introduction and conclusion (50%)

Reviews by R. Holton, 2012 (Nations and Nationalism, 18: 3, pp. 548-549); D. McCrone, 2014 (Scottish Affairs, 23: 1, pp. 163-165)

Chapters and Other Invited Contributions

• 2023. Halikiopoulou, D. The Far Right. In The Routledge Handbook of Political Parties edited by Neil Carter, Dan Keith, Sofia Vasilopoulou, and Gyda Sindre.
• 2022. Halikiopoulou, D. Populism and nationalism. In: Manucci, L. , (eds.) Making sense of populism: Interviews with the experts. Routledge , London.
• 2020. Halikiopoulou, D. The political implications of Covid-19: What now for populism? In Billio, M. and S. Varotto, A New World Post COVID-19: Lessons for Business, the Finance Industry and Policy Makers, Ca' Foscari University Press: Venice, ISBN [ebook] 978-88-6969-442-4 | ISBN [print] 978-88-6969-443-1
• 2020. Halikiopoulou, D. Economic crisis, poor governance and the rise of populism: the case of Greece. Intereconomics: Review of European Economic Policy, 55 (1). pp. 34-37.
• 2020. Vasilopoulou, S. and Halikiopoulou, D. Greek Political Culture. In Featherstone, K. and Papadimitriou, D. The Handbook of Greek Politics, Oxford University Press
• 2019 Vrakopoulos, C. and Halikiopoulou, D. Vigilantism in Greece: the case of the Golden Dawn. In Bjorgo, T. and Mares, M. Vigilantism, Routledge.
• 2017. Halikiopoulou, D. and Vlandas, T. Voting to leave: economic insecurity and the Brexit vote. In: Leruth, B., Startin, N. and Usherwood, S. (eds.) The Routledge handbook of Euroscepticism. Routledge Handbooks. Routledge, Abindon.
• 2016. Halikiopoulou, D. and Vasilopoulou, S. Political instability and the persistence of religion in Greece. The policy implications of the cultural defence paradigm. In: González, F. and D'Amato, G. (eds.) Multireligious Society Dealing with Religious Diversity in Theory and Practice. Ashgate, Abingdon.
• 2016. Halikiopoulou, D., Vasilopoulou, S. and Nanou, K. Changing the policy agenda? The impact of the Golden Dawn on Greek party politics. GreeSE (Hellenic Observatory Papers on Greece and Southeast Europe). 103. Discussion Paper. Hellenic Observatory, LSE, London.
• 2015. Vasilopoulou, S. and Halikiopoulou, D., Greek politics: economic crisis or crisis of democracy? World Affairs, 178: 3
• 2015. Halikiopoulou, D. and Vasilopoulou, S., The Greek Golden Dawn: Reasons behind the Extreme Right’s Revival in the Cradle of Democracy, CICERO Foundation, No. 15/05
• 2014. Halikiopoulou, D. Radical left-wing Euroscepticism in the 2014 elections, in Is Europe afraid of Europe? Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies/ Karamanlis Foundation, Athens.
• 2013. Halikiopoulou, D. and Vasilopoulou, S., Political Instability and the Persistence of Religion in Greece: The Policy Implications of the Cultural Defence Paradigm, RECODE Paper Series, Augsburg: European Science Foundation

Collaborative Research at International Level

• 2022. Halikiopoulou, D. and Vlandas T. Understanding right-wing populism and what to do about it, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) Regional Office for Cooperation and Peace in Europe, Vienna:

The study addresses the underlying economic grievances driving RWPPs support and presents nuanced comparative findings on how to explain the success of RWPPs.

• 2019. Rooduijn, M., Van Kessel, S., Froio, C., Pirro, A., De Lange, S., Halikiopoulou, D., Lewis, P., Mudde, C. & Taggart, P. The PopuList: An Overview of Populist, Far Right, Far Left and Eurosceptic Parties in Europe. http://www.popu-list.org.The PopuList is a peer-reviewed list of populist, far right, far left and Eurosceptic parties that obtained at least 2% of the vote in at least one national parliamentary election since 1998. The PopuList is supported by the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research, The Guardian, and the ECPR Standing Group on Extremism and Democracy. We are currently working on the 3^rd edition of the PopuList which in addition to party classifications will also include country factsheets.

External activities

Overview

External Collaborations

Daphne seeks to communicate her research widely and encourage political debate. Her research and its associated findings are of high value to non-academic end-users who seek to develop effective policy responses to the far-right phenomenon. She has clearly communicated the key policy implications of her research - i.e., strong political institutions and generous welfare state policies make societies more resilient to far right populism- through media engagement and outreach papers and offered consultation to high alignment organizations whose visions centre on safeguarding and promoting democratic values. See below an indicative selection of Daphne’s collaborative activities and media engagement.

• Friedrich Ebert Stiftung: ‘Understanding right-wing populism and what to do about it’- (with Tim Vlandas). This report examines the electoral success of right-wing populist parties (RWPPs) in 17 European countries and makes recommendations for how progressives should respond.
• Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR): ‘What to do about right-wing populism’ (with Tim Vlandas).
• European Trade Union Institute (ETUI): ‘Why far right parties do well at times of crises: the role of labour market institutions’.

Memberships

• Joint Editor-in-Chief of the journal Nations and Nationalism
• Co-editor of the Springer book series in Electoral Politics
• Vice President of the Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism (ASEN)
• Member of the PopuList team: a peer-reviewed list of populist, far right, far left and Eurosceptic parties that obtained at least 2% of the vote in at least one national parliamentary election since 1998 (Citation: Rooduijn, M., Van Kessel, S., Froio, C., Pirro, A., De Lange, S., Halikiopoulou, D., Lewis, P., Mudde, C. & Taggart, P. (2019). The PopuList: An Overview of Populist, Far Right, Far Left and Eurosceptic Parties in Europe).
• Elected a Steering Committee member of the ‘Democracy and Extremism’ standing group of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR).

Invited talks and conferences

• 2022          Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES)/European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) event: Understanding right-wing populism and what to do about it with Nicola Countouris (ETUI), Juliane Bir (ETUC) and MEP Agnes Jongerius (Labour Party, Netherlands).
• 2022          Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS)/Fabian Society New year 2022 conference: ‘Rising to the Challenge: Populism, Nationalism and Division’
• 2020          Populism in Action Project/Clinton Institute, “Populism in Europe and the USA”
• 2019          Käte Hamburger Dialogue, Duisburg, “Far Right Populism”
• 2019          International Journalism Festival, Perugia, “Populism in Europe”

Selected Blog Posts

• 07/21         Left out: Social democratic parties must reclaim themselves as the champions of equality, Fabian Review
• 06/21         Euroscepticism was never just about Europe, PSA Blog
• 05/21         How welfare state policies prevent the insecure from voting far right, The Loop
• 09/20         Why far right party success is about alliances between voters with different immigration grievances, and not just about culture, LSE EUROPP
• 09/20         RADIKAAL podcast on the Golden Dawn
• 05/20         Centre for a New American Security (CNAS), US, Podcast on COVID-19 and populism
• 04/20         The pandemic is exposing the weaknesses of populism, but also fuelling authoritarianism, LSE Brexit Blog
• 12/19         Far right voters don’t dislike government. They just want to keep its benefits for their own ethnic group, Washington Post Monkey Cage
• 11/19         Resisting the seductions of populism, Social Europe
• 07/19         Nationalism and Populism: Between culture and economy, Populism Observer Blog
• 07/19         2019 Greek elections: Hope or caution?, Who governs Europe Blog
• 06/19         Populistas de extrema derecha, El Pais
• 05/19         Understanding the far-right populists: focus on their political message, Social Europe
• 09/18         Far right groups may be diverse but here’s what they have in common, The Conversation
• 03/18         Breaching the social contract: why the success of the Golden Dawn in Greece points to a crisis of democratic representation, Democratic Audit
• 02/18         Three dangerous generalisations you could be making about populism, Political Quarterly Blog
• 04/17         Why are far right parties increasing their support across Europe? A note on the French election, Huffington Post
• 03/17         Why the defeat of the Dutch Trump Geert Wilders is far from the end of Europe’s far right populists, Huffington Post
• 02/17         What is new and what is nationalist about Europe’s new nationalism?, Huffington Post
• 07/15         How Greece crisis sparked a new era of extremist politics, The Conversation
• 06/15         Why the Golden Dawn is a Neo-Nazi Party, Huffington Post
• 05/15         The Golden Dawn’s Nationalist Solution: Explaining the Rise of the Far Right in Greece, LSE EUROPP
• 01/15         The Significance of the Golden Dawn as third party in parliament, Lifo
• 01/15         Syriza won with a radical left programme, but keeping the middle class on side may be key to retaining power, LSE EUROPP
• 06/14         Scapegoating Europe? How discontent with domestic politics determined the EU vote, Open Democracy
• 05/14         Golden Dawn’s success in the European elections shows the party now has a stable support base among Greek voters, LSE EUROPP
• 09/13         The Rise of the Golden Dawn casts a Shadow on Greek Politics, Huffington post
• 06/12         Greece’s response to austerity has been to say “no to the Fourth Reich” but yes to the neo-Nazism of the Golden Dawn, LSE EUROPP
• 06/12         The recent elections may have only postponed Greece’s default and Eurozone exit, LSE EUROPP
• 06/12         Golden Dawn, SYRIZA or a pro-memorandum party?, Counterpoint
• 05/12         New elections in Greece seem increasingly likely, further damaging the country’s credibility, LSE EUROPP
• 04/12         Socio-economic volatility and the rise of anti-establishment politics will characterise Greece’s most important election in nearly 40 years, LSE EUROPP
• 03/12         As long as cartelisation, patronage, and corruption dominate Greek politics, economic reforms will be doomed to failure, LSE EUROPP

Media coverage

• 04/22         Högerpopulister bland toppnamnen i helgens val i Europa, Dagens Nyheter
• 04/22         Pandemija, nasilje policije, gneča na desnici – kakšna prihodnost čaka Francijo, N1 Slovenia
• 04/22         France elects: how to counter the far right in Europe, New Statesman
• 11/20         How the Pandemic Dealt a Blow to Europe’s Far Right, New York Magazine
• 10/20         ‘Historic verdict’: Celebrations as Greece convicts Golden Dawn, Al Jazeera
• 06/20         On Populism and COVID-19, Estadão
• 03/20         Populism in Meaningless, the Atlantic
• 01/20         Populism is morphing in insidious ways, the Atlantic
• 07/19         Tired Greeks set to clobber progressive Left government and return to old-style political dynasty, the Telegraph
• 07/19         Giannis Antetokounmpo: NBA star's rise from 'hustling' on Athens streets to MVP award, BBC Sport
• 05/19         Interview on the 2019 EP elections, Radio Catalonia
• 05/19         E.U. Elections 2019: A Guide to the Parliament Vote New York Times
• 05/19         Documentary: The rise of the far right, BBC Scotland
• 05/19         European elections could reveal popularity and chaos of populists, Al Jazeera
• 03/19         Who are the far right extremists? BBC World Service, The Real Story
• 03/19         Populism and how it impacts democracy, The Daily Star (Bangladesh)
• 12/18         Their ideas had no place here': how Crete kicked out Golden Dawn, The Guardian
• 11/18         Politics: where next, Populism Channel 4
• 10/18         Far Right, Radical Right, Extreme Right: What is this all about? PAUTA (Chile)
• 09/18         The rise of the far right in Europe Radio Athina 9.84 (Greece)
• 02/17         The Rise of the Far Right, Harvard Political Review
• 12/16         Brexit, Trump, Le Pen and the rise of the right: the anger goes global, The Independent
• 12/16         Why Europe’s populist revolt is spreading, Irish Examiner
• 11/16         Why Europe’s Populist Revolt is Spreading, Newsweek
• 03/16         Brussels attacks: Right-wing political parties point to immigration, Newsweek
• 03/16         Justin Welby is wrong. It is racist to blame migrants for your fears about jobs and wages, The Independent
• 02/16         Anti-Islam organization Pegida is exporting hate across Europe, Newsweek
• 10/15         Four ways to deal with the Golden Dawn, Kathimerini (Greece)
• 07/15         The No Vote threatens democracy in Greece, Newsweek
• 07/15         Greek crisis: As Greece spirals towards disaster, a new era of extremist politics begins, The Independent
• 02/15         Élections grecques, l’espoir en chemin?, La Revue Nouvelle