SIDESTREAM is a five-year project (2023-2027) that examines how populist radical right parties attract atypical supporter groups. While these parties are widely known for vocally challenging the “special” rights of minorities and women, some of them appear to be garnering increasing electoral support within these very groups.
The full title of the project is “Breaking Into the Mainstream While Remaining Radical: Sidestreaming Strategies on the Populist Radical Right,” and it is funded by the Estonian Research Council.
This project examines the political and communicative sidestreaming strategies of Sverigedemokraterna (Sweden), EKRE (Estonia), and Vox (Spain) through a qualitative case study and large-N survey. It explores how these strategies target underrepresented groups while balancing traditional supporters, core ideologies, and policy positions.
The study enhances understanding of the electoral success of populist radical right parties. Additionally, it sheds light on the political engagement of underrepresented groups—such as women, sexual and ethnic minorities, as well as immigrant-origin voters—examining both their mobilisation and the impact of populist radical right strategies on them.