New Books in Political Science Marta Lorimer, "Europe As Ideological Resource: European Integration and Far Right Legitimation in France and Italy" (Oxford UP, 2024)
Apr 5, 2026
Marta Lorimer, Lecturer in Politics at Cardiff University and author of Europe as an Ideological Resource, explores how European integration became a tool for far-right legitimation. She traces four core concepts—identity, liberty, threat, and national interest. The conversation compares France and Italy, outlines strategic adaptations over decades, and links historical roots to recent developments with leaders like Meloni and Orban.
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Neo-Fascist Song Sparked The Research
- Marta Lorimer discovered a neo-fascist song in Sardinia that praised a pan-European unity, which sparked her research question.
- That puzzling example led her to study far-right ideas of Europe across decades and to write her PhD and book.
Europe As Identity Legitimizes The Far Right
- Europe functions as an identity resource for far-right parties, allowing them to appear less purely nationalist and more transnationally minded.
- Lorimer shows parties frame a European civilization separate from the EU to signal openness and gain legitimacy.
Core Concepts Persist Despite EU Changes
- The EU's changing institutional form shaped far-right strategies but core concepts they use stayed constant across decades.
- Concepts like identity, liberty, existential threat, and national interest remained central even as specific positions shifted.
