Radical Right Populism, Gender and Sexual Politics and Democratic (In)Stability

This chapter examines the relationship between radical right populism, attacks on women's and LGBT+ rights, and the risk of democratic erosion. The emerging research area that studies right-wing populist parties through a gender lens has observed, in several European countries, the combination of radical right populism and a conservative backlash against gender and LGBTQ+ equalities. Recently, a close connection between anti-gender politics and de-democratization has been observed when nationalist populists are in power. The chapter will focus on these themes based on the case study of Italy, where two radical right parties, such as Lega and Brothers of Italy, are currently in power. The conclusions will provide some directions for future research.