Discriminated and Violent? The Social Representations of Minorities in the Rise of Radical Right Populist Parties in Portugal and Italy

The rise of radical right-wing parties in Europe brings new dynamics and challenges to western liberal democratic models, particularly in how these parties construct narratives around minorities, often framing them as threats to national identity and security. Given the historical background of populist governments in Italy and Portugal being, until recently, an exception in the context of populism in Europe, the comparison between these two countries offers an opportunity to analyse the dynamics and impacts of radical right-wing populism in both countries. The present research aims to address the scarcity of studies on social representations of minorities in Portugal and Italy. To achieve this goal, we conducted a survey (N = 1796) in Portugal and Italy. Using the free word association technique, based on Abric’s Structural Approach to Social Representations Theory, we analyse responses regarding social representations of minorities. Our findings reveal that, while respondents in both nations acknowledge discrimination, the Italian sample includes a wider range of negative terms, such as “violent”—whereas the Portuguese sample largely portrays minorities in positive terms, favouring their inclusion. Respondents in both countries recognise the existence of discrimination against minorities in society, yet the evocation of terms such as “violent”, “profiteers”, and “repugnant” reflects considerable influence from exclusionary and marginalising narratives.