Research Group on the Radical Right in Switzerland

Aims of the Research Group

Research on the radical right in Europe has gained considerable momentum in recent years. In Germany in particular, the field has experienced significant growth, reflected in new research networks, academic initiatives, and scholarly publications. In Switzerland, by contrast, research remains comparatively fragmented and has little institutional anchoring. Research projects often run in parallel without being connected, while interdisciplinary exchange remains relatively limited.

Against this background, a research group was established at the University of Fribourg on 20 May 2026 to bring together scholars studying the radical right and its various manifestations, including the populist right, the extreme right, and the so-called New Right.

The research group aims to strengthen interdisciplinary dialogue and establish a long-term platform for collaboration and the further development of research on the radical right in Switzerland. To this end, it organises regular networking meetings as well as academic and public events.

The group also seeks to promote and expand international and transnational exchange with existing research groups and networks, such as the Zeithistorischer Arbeitskreis Extreme Rechte (ZAER) and the Network for Nordic Fascism Studies (NORFAS). These connections are intended to strengthen collaboration beyond Switzerland and establish lasting international partnerships.

Research Focus

The research group is primarily aimed at doctoral and postdoctoral researchers but explicitly welcomes scholars at all career stages working on the radical right. It brings together historians as well as researchers from the social sciences and humanities, particularly sociology, political science, media studies, and religious studies.

Chronologically, the research group focuses on both the era of historical fascism and the diverse continuities, transformations, and reconfigurations of the radical right from 1945 to the present. Particular attention is paid to the emergence of new currents, such as the so-called New Right, and their ideological, organisational, and personal trajectories. The group also examines transnational networks to explore processes of exchange, transfer, and global connections. Furthermore, it seeks to investigate contemporary manifestations of the radical right and situate them analytically within longer-term historical developments.

Thematically, the group covers a broad range of research areas:

• Racism, antisemitism, nationalism

• Völkisch ideologies, social Darwinism, identity politics

• Populism, party politics, authoritarianism, anti-liberalism

• Conceptions of nature, ecology, biopolitics, population policies

• Gender orders, constructions of masculinity, antifeminism

• Religion, esotericism, conspiracy narratives

• Anti-intellectualism, alternative knowledge production, pseudoscience

• Media strategies, counterpublics, digital radicalisation

• Politics of memory, historical narratives, revisionism, denialism

• Violence, terrorism, paramilitary networks

• Intellectual milieus, metapolitics, cultural strategies

• Youth cultures, subcultures, music scenes

Particular emphasis is placed on research relating to Switzerland and its transnational and global connections. However, a specific focus on Switzerland is not a prerequisite for joining the research group.