Understanding the normalization of the far right: populism, mass media, and politainment

This article examines the normalization of the far right by considering the role of populism and politainment in this process. I argue that populism facilitates far-right normalization by, first, connecting antidemocratic far-right ideologemes with democratic rhetoric and principles and, second, by providing far-right messages with great compatibility with the media logic and attracting media attention. In addition, right-wing populists and far-right activists have become masters of politainment, mixing entertainment with politics. The adoption of politainment by far-right and right-wing populists represents a major innovation in far-right form and content, since it blurs the distinction between politics and entertainment, private and public, reality and fiction. It creates flexible frames for deciphering antidemocratic messages, keeping them polysemic and playful in character, facilitating the dissemination of antidemocratic ideologemes in the democratic public sphere and becoming a crucial factor for normalizing the far right. The article develops a theoretical framework informed by interdisciplinary approaches to address these innovations and dedicates special attention to their hyperreal character. Empirical cases illustrate these new dynamics and processes involved in far-right normalization.