The Rightward Shift: Challenges to the European Union

The right-wing parties have witnessed a rapid increase in their presence in various European Union (EU) member states in the past decades. This is so because the political situation in many of these countries underwent a radical change in the 1980s–90s. A major reason for these changes was the rise of new movements and parties of right-wing in a socio-political and historical environment which was different from the pre-war era. This chapter analyses the impact of the right-wing parties on the working of the European Union. It will look at the phenomenon of Euroscepticism as well at the idea of how these countries are directly (through their participation in the European Parliament) and indirectly (as part of national governments or in the opposition) influencing the policy-making in the EU.