The Effect of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine on the Political Imaginary of European Right-Wing Populist Parties

Abstract: The polarizing effect on the relationship between the West and Russia poses poses challenges to the otherwise close ties between right-wing populist parties and Russia. The thesis utilizes political imaginary in conjunction with political narratives to understand the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 on the political imaginaries of the Sweden Democrats, the National Rally, and the Freedom Party The study specifically explores how these parties perceive Russia as their leader, their opposition to the European Union (EU), and thus also the underlying tension between populism and liberal democracy. Using a narrative analysis of debates in the European Parliament from 2019 to 2023, the study finds that the conflicts between national-patriotism and cosmopolitan-globalism, as well as between the elite and the people, continue to be central to the parties' political imaginaries, even after Russia's invasion. However, there has been a change in the imaginary regarding the conflict between the people and the elite, due to the parties' evolving understanding of Russia's leadership. Despite the change, the tension between liberal democracy and populism remains. The findings align with the understanding that different parts of the political imaginary are more or less rigid.