Populism, the far right and EU integration: beyond simple dichotomies

Parties on the ideological fringes, or those that wish to portray themselves as political outsiders, are generally assumed to be Eurosceptic: opposed to the EU or the current direction of European integration.While it is evident that radical populist parties, in their various forms, are inclined to criticise the EU, it is also clear that they are not usually 'anti-European' or opposed to all forms of European cooperation.Studying the topic through different conceptual lenses, the three books discussed in this article question received wisdoms about actors that are usually assumed to oppose 'Europe', and confirm that we need to move beyond simplistic pro-and anti-categories.One lesson derived from the three studies combined is that there is scope for more precision in terms of how conceptual categories (such as 'populism', 'far right', 'illiberalism') can be used to understand and describe Eurosceptic discourses.