In a Nutshell, s.2 e.18: Faith and Fear of the Far Right with Kirsten Smeets
In the Vox podcast In a Nutshell, hosts Jara Majerus and Antonia Leise take a deep dive into the university's most interesting, strange, and exciting research. Every two weeks, they invite Radboud researchers to talk about their favourite topics – explained in bite-sized episodes. In today's episode, Jara talks with Kirsten Smeets about the emerging Far Right and their anti-immigration discourse.
Why has the European far-right become increasingly popular? How do they use religion to shape their anti-immigration discourses? And what role does TikTok play in all of this?
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In today’s episode, Jara investigates what is behind the anti-immigration discourse of the European far right. Together with her guest, Kirsten Smeets, she will explore how opponents are created, why religion still plays a role in secular societies, and what makes the far right seem like an emergency break.
Kirsten completed her PhD at Radboud University in the Department of Philosophy, Ethics, and Political Philosophy, and is now a lecturer at Utrecht University in the field of religious studies. In her research, she examines religious contra-identities in the anti-immigration discourse of the European far right.
Do you want to know more about this topic? Follow Kirsten’s tips and read “The Far Right Today” by Cas Mudde or listen to the podcast episode “Why I left Christianity and the Far Right” with Joram Van Klaveren.
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Pieter schreef op 18 juni 2025 om 12:52
Al in 2006 zei de Britse minister-president Tony Blair dat de multiculturele samenleving mislukt was. In 2010 zei bondskanselier Angela “wir schaffen das” Merkel hetzelfde. Andere Europese leiders zoals Nicolas Sarkozy, David Cameron en Mark Rutte bevestigden dit.
We zijn inmiddels jaren verder en de problemen zijn alleen maar groter geworden. Voor een groot deel van de Nederlanders zijn migratie, asiel en integratie belangrijke politieke agendapunten. Recent viel er voor de tweede keer een kabinet over dit thema. Wie al die problemen ontkent en het afdoet als een dingetje van “extreem rechts” leeft buiten iedere realiteit.