Populist Radical Right in the Visegrád Four: Diverging Strategies, Converging Agendas

The rise of populist radical right-wing (PRR) parties in the Visegrád Four (V4), Poland, Hungary, Czechia and Slovakia, has reshaped Central European politics. Despite divergent national strategies, these parties share a converging agenda opposing liberal democracy, European integration, and multiculturalism. This article examines their evolution, ideological shifts, and political impact. Using a comparative qualitative analysis, this study draws on party manifestos, electoral data, and discourse analysis to explore how PRR parties manipulate historical narratives, nationalism, and Euroscepticism. While Fiatal Demokraták Szövetsége–Magyar Polgári Szövetség (Fidesz) in Hungary and Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (PiS) in Poland have institutionalized illiberal governance, PRR movements in Czechia and Slovakia remain fragmented but influential. The 2015 migration crisis and EU conditionality mechanisms accelerated their radicalization and mainstreaming. Findings reveal that PRR parties succeed by co-opting mainstream conservatives and reframing national identities, fostering democratic backsliding. Though they operate in distinct contexts, their shared ideological core and governance tactics present a unified challenge to European liberalism. This article contributes to debates on illiberalism, populism, and EU relations, highlighting the PRR’s role in reshaping regional and supranational politics.