Between Solidarity and Anxiety: Populist Radical Right Narratives on Ukrainian Refugees in Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract Populist radical right parties across Europe have consistently capitalized on refugee crises to advance anti-immigrant agendas. By employing extensive content analysis of social media posts from February 2022, the onset of the Russo-Ukrainian war, to March 2023, this article examines how Bulgarian, Czech, German and Polish populist radical right actors discursively contest and reinvent the legitimacy of Ukrainian war refugees. Two dominant narratives emerge. First, radical right politicians assessed the legitimacy of seeking refuge based on ethnicity, reasons for flight and gender, initially welcoming Ukrainians as vulnerable Europeans who needed immediate protection. Second, radical right rhetoric quickly endorses nativist connotations. Despite their cultural proximity, war refugees are now portrayed as an imminent threat to security, welfare and national identity. This study sheds light on the consistency of the discursive tactics populist radical right parties employ when shaping public opinion on solidarity, national identity, immigration and foreign policy.