Contemporary far fight in Europe and transnational cooperation : case of UK Indepedence Party

Abstract

If and how far-right parties are able to come together and cooperate as a transnational movement within the EU? This thesis will try to understand how far-right parties in European Parliament come together and cooperate despite their nationalist agenda and what is this cooperation’s impact on politics in Europe. This thesis assumes that contemporary far-right parties discard nationalistic concerns and aspirations in favor of transnational cooperation. In accordance with this purpose, definitions of ideology, fascism and far-right will be defined and then these definitions would help to understand which parties could be accepted as far-right parties. After defining them, this thesis will examine underlying aspects of the transnational cooperation between far-right parties in Europe and try to determine how this transnational cooperation became reality despite far-right parties’ nationalistic stand. Furthermore, iv a case study will be conducted to understand what is a far-right party’s ideology and stance towards European Union in general.