FOREIGN AND DEFENCE POLICY VIEWS OF THE DUTCH FAR-RIGHT PARTIES AHEAD OF 2025 DUTCH GENERAL ELECTIONS
FOREIGN AND DEFENCE POLICY VIEWS OF THE DUTCH FAR-RIGHT PARTIES AHEAD OF 2025 DUTCH GENERAL ELECTIONS

Summary/Abstract: With multiple military conflicts and crises occurring around the globe, combined with the incumbent US administration’s isolationist drift, calls for restoring European strategic autonomy have intensified. Consequently, foreign policy and defence have once again gained in salience and moved to the forefront of political debates in Europe. Meanwhile, parties representing the far right of the political spectrum continue to surge in popularity and gain higher influence in national legislatures. So far, the research on the far right and foreign policy has predominantly focused on European integration, while their views on broader foreign affairs and defence have garnered less attention. This article aims to address this lacuna by focusing on the Netherlands, an important EU and NATO member state with a diverse and proliferating far-right scene. Drawing on party manifestos collected from the Repository of the Documentation Centre of Dutch Political Parties, the article presents an overview and analysis of the foreign policy and defence views of Dutch far-right parties ahead of the general elections scheduled for October 29, 2025. Findings suggest that parties’ views are generally aligned with the core ideological tenets of the far right (nativism, authoritarianism, populism). Specifically, their views on the EU are primarily motivated by their nativism and populism, while their views on defence are primarily motivated by their authoritarianism. As for other foreign policy issues, their degree of commitment to these core tenets (radical right vs. extreme right) stands out as a potential explanatory factor.

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