Illiberal Politics, Unequal Health: The Health Consequences of Far-right Populism

Background: Far-right populist parties have gained significant electoral success across the world, yet little attention has been paid to whether and how they shape health and contribute to health inequalities.Methods: We conducted a rapid review to synthesize the available evidence on the link between far-right populism and health in Europe. We searched PubMed and Scopus between May and June 2026 to identify studies investigating this link.Results: The review suggests that the health consequences of far-right populism can be understood across at least three levels: (1) the individual level, at which support for far-right populist ideologies may decrease individual health and foster adverse health behaviors; (2) the interpersonal level, at which exclusionary rhetoric may foster discrimination, stigma, and social exclusion and hostile social climates, with implications particularly for marginalized groups; and (3) the societal level, at which far-right populist governance may influence population health via welfare chauvinism and exclusionary policies that affect the social determinants of health.Conclusion: Based on the findings of our review, we propose a preliminary framework explaining how far-right populism may be linked to health. This framework provides a basis for integrating existing findings and advancing research on the health consequences of far-right populism. However, the evidence base is still developing, and more systematic, longitudinal, and comparative research is needed to better understand potential causal relationships.