Distrusting ‘them’ and creating ‘us’: migration and the uses of the past by populist radical right parties in southern Europe

Migration is a central topic in the populist radical right (PRR) discourse, usually perceived within the frames of the politicization of immigration in Europe. Departing from the centrality of distrust in such discourse, we advance the argument that PRR parties strategically use nostalgic narratives to make assertions on both inward and outward migration as an elite-blaming strategy, thus mobilizing paradoxes—presence–absence, crowded–empty, deserving–undeserving—through a sentimental longing for a better past. Italy, Spain, and Portugal have long been countries of e migration that, in the last few decades, have become countries of im migration, too. In Italy, a populist radical right party ( Fratelli d’Italia ) is in government, and Spain and Portugal, not long ago regarded as exceptions in Europe’s populist radical right sweep, have seen a rapid mainstreaming and growth of these movements ( Vox and Chega ), now consolidated as the third-biggest parties in terms of parliamentary representation. By analyzing party manifestos of recent general elections (2022, 2023, and 2024), we shall posit that the populist radical right discourse in Southern Europe layers ideas of overlapping, protracted crises threatening the future of the nation and its people against the backdrop of a glorified past that unifies a ‘virtuous’ population. Nostalgia conveys distrust channeled towards specific actors, thus creating an intelligible discursive framework for grievances and their populist radical right rationale. Mobility takes a central place in the politics of nostalgia, as particular e−/im-migration narratives emerge vis-à-vis ethno national concerns emphasizing a widening gap between a hopeful past and a woeful present.