Research

My research sits at the intersection of far-right politics, democracy, and political behaviour, with a regional focus on Europe. I’m particularly interested in the relationship between radicalism/extremism and democracy, and the role of gender in far-right politics. 

My first research agenda focuses on the socioeconomic agenda of the far right – specifically welfare policies related to women, family and employment. I examine how far-right actors employ these policies not only to reward “deserving” constituencies but as instruments of democratic erosion, building support for the gradual weakening of liberal democratic norms and institutions.

My second broader research agenda explores how democratic attitudes shift in response to democratic erosion as well as to its reversal. 

More broadly, I also research far-right mainstreaming, normalisation, and radicalisation – specifically how far-right actors shift the boundaries of public discourse, how their positions and ideas penetrate the political mainstream, and how mainstream parties, media, and voters respond.

For an overview of working papers and ongoing work in progress, please see below.  

The Populist Radical Right and “Common Sense” (with Cas Mudde)

Still a Love Affair? The European Far Right and Donald Trump 2.0 (with Jakub Wondreys)

Democratic Attitudes When Backsliding Reverses: Evidence from Hungary (with Ben Yoel). Working paper draft.

What’s in a label? Analysing far-right parties’ “pro-family” agenda between rhetoric, policy, and outcomes

Reversing Backsliding: How Electoral Turnover and Retributive Policies Shape Public Attitudes (with Ben Yoel)

Far-right Voter Volatility and Government Performance During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Evidence
From the 2022 Elections in Brazil (with Eduardo Burkle)

The Far Right in CEE (Chapter in “Comparative Politics of Central and Eastern Europe: Beyond the Disciplinary Iron Curtains”, forthcoming early 2027)

Far-Right Social Policies and Democratic Erosion

Democratic satisfaction in far-right support across Europe

All in the Family? Far-Right Political Commentary and the Mainstreaming of Anti-Feminist Ideology: ‘The Family’ as Symbolic Anchor

Laboratories of radicalism? The Austrian radical left and right in local elections

Generalised trust and anti-immigrant attitudes in Eastern versus Western Europe

Hungary: Between democratic breakdown and authoritarian consolidation – The role of party convergence, populist radical right politics, and polarisation

Recognizing motherhood: Reproductive contribution, valorisation of the family, and far-right support

Hostile, Benevolent or Modern? The Role of Sexism(s) in Explaining Far-Right Support Across Eastern and Western Europe

Revisiting Renan: The discursive construction of Austrian and Hungarian national identities in comparative perspective.

Greilinger G. and Mudde C. (2024) Talking left, voting right: an assessment of far-right voting on socio-economic issues in the European Parliament, Policy Brief 2024.05, ETUI.
“Talking left, voting right” in the media:

Greilinger, G. (2019). Euroscepticism on the rise among the Hungarian government party – A case study of Viktor Orbán’s Eurosceptic rhetoric. (Master Thesis, European Studies)

ECPR Extremism and Democracy Summer School, Bologna, (Italy), July 2026

ECPR SGEU Conference, Catania (Italy), July 2026

ECPR SGEU ECR Pre-Conference, Catania (Italy), July 2026

EUI workshop on Political Behaviour in Central and Eastern Europe, Florence (Italy), June 2025

Left and Right Political Radicalisms: Issue Positions of Parties and Voters in the Face of Global Crises, Dresden (Germany), June 2025

Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA), Chicago (IL), April 2025

Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA), Chicago (IL), April 2024