Closing the door? The ideology and impact of radical right populism on immigration policy in Austria and Italy

In this article I argue that the radical right articulates a coherent ideology vis-a`-vis immigration. Radical right populist parties assert that uncontrolled immigration increases crime, threatens security, precipitates the lost of cultural identity, removes jobs from locals and overstrains the welfare state. After focusing on the immigration ideology of the Freedom Party and the Lega Nord, I then examine whether the ideology of these two radical right populist parties have influenced immigration policy in Austria and in Italy. Highlighting the link between ideology and public policy, I argue that the Freedom Party and the Lega Nord have been instrumental in passing more restrictive immigration policy, limiting the flow of immigrants and the ability of non-EU-labour to live, work, and settle permanently in either Austria or Italy.