The Impact of War in Ukraine on the Political and Ideological Agenda of European Post-communist State Conservative Populists: The Case of EKRE

Abstract

Right-wing populists in Estonia—as well as in other European post-communist states—defy easy categorization or placement on left/right axes. Their values combine democratic and non-democratic elements. These populists emphasize majoritarianism and direct democracy at the expense of minority rights, while according to little value to the rule of law. Similarly, Estonian populists give little heed to liberal values, but instead emphasize so-called traditional values. But it is in foreign policy that the contradictions of these populist parties emerge most saliently, as their Euroscepticism and social conservatism aligns them with Russian state messaging and pro-Russian far-right populist parties, while the Soviet legacy imposes constraints on them given lingering fears of Russia on the part of their electorates. Vladimir Putin’s February 24, 2022, invasion of Ukraine provides for analytical leverage on the core ideology of Soviet legacy right-wing populism. Through the study of the Estonian Conservative People’s Party (EKRE), in comparison to Poland’s Law and Justice (PiS) and Hungary’s Fidesz parties, this chapter analyzes the ideological core of contemporary Soviet legacy populism.

Published with support of project O-006 “Strategic communication in the context of the war in Ukraine: lessons learned for Estonia”, Estonian Military Academy.