Gijs Lambrechts and Benjamin De Cleen tell us about their recent Journal of Language and Politics article, 'Farmers as symbol of ‘the people’: Nationalism and populism in Vlaams Belang’s discourse about farmers', explaining how they came to focus on this topic and what they have learnt.


The VB constructs farmers as a symbol of 'the people' in two complementary ways. In its nationalist discourse, farmers are positioned as rooted in 'the nation' - portrayed as guardians of Flemish identity, landscape, and traditions against urban and foreign threats. In its populist discourse, farmers are depicted as part of 'the underdog' - victims of policies and regulations imposed by elites that are distant sociologically but also geographically.
Why did you decide to write this piece?
Gijs:
This article is part of my PhD research on the far right and the environment in Flanders and the Netherlands. I had actually not originally planned to work on the Vlaams’ Belang’s (VB) discourse on farmers, until a sudden wave of intense farmer protests in Brussels in early 2024: we could see and hear the convoys of tractors driving by from the windows of our office. We witnessed the VB increasingly positioning itself as a protector of farmers and rural populations more broadly. This connected with my growing broader sense that the party, which had always had its biggest successes in cities, was deliberately shifting its focus toward the countryside. We also noticed media coverage of similar dynamics across Europe, with far-right parties trying hard to capitalize on farmer protests and claiming to protect rural interests and agriculture. The case study also connected with my personal background: having grown up and still living in the Flemish countryside, where far-right support is relatively mainstream today, I had first-hand experience with the party's popularity in rural regions.
Benjamin:
Even though this specific case study was not part of Gijs’ original PhD plan, the case did sort of impose itself and turned out to be a perfect pilot study for his broader PhD research. The farmers’ protests also aligned closely with my own earlier work on populism and nationalism on the far right, but the focus on environmental issues was new to me.
What are the key takeaways?
Gijs:
The main finding of our analysis is that the VB strategically integrates farmers and rural issues into its discourse through a combination of nationalism and populism. The VB constructs farmers as a symbol of 'the people' in two complementary ways. In its nationalist discourse, farmers are positioned as rooted in 'the nation' - portrayed as guardians of Flemish identity, landscape, and traditions against urban and foreign threats. In its populist discourse, farmers are depicted as part of 'the underdog' - victims of policies and regulations imposed by elites that are distant sociologically but also geographically. The party portrays farmers as defenders of national identity and victims of elite politics, positioning them against an urban elite that supposedly threatens national interests and ordinary people's livelihoods.
Benjamin:
I was not surprised to see that the VB productively combined nationalism and populism. This is something we have seen the far right do with great success elsewhere as well, especially in anti-migration discourse. What was much more striking to me was that nationalism and populism at the same time also produced rather divergent representations of farmers and of rurality that were sometimes almost incompatible. The nationalism produces a positive image of the rural, with romantic images of bucolic rural landscapes and farming. The populist logic leads to a far more pessimistic discourse on the rural as forgotten by the elites, with images that are much more gritty and grey.
Gijs:
We hope our case study of the VB can contribute to understanding a broader transformation of far-right politics, where rural and agrarian issues are becoming key battlegrounds. While some countries have seen the emergence of new right-wing rural parties (like the BBB Farmer-Citizen Movement in the Netherlands), our analysis shows how established far-right parties like the VB can transform themselves from more urban-focused to rural-oriented. This shows the far-right’s capacity to adapt its discourse to shifting political landscapes and emerging political opportunities.
Where do you plan to go next in your research?
Gijs:
Building on intuitions developed in our article about farmers, I have just finished a book chapter that connects the evolution of the VB's electoral geography to changes in its discourse - from its early success in urban areas and near absence elsewhere to its current state of having become relatively marginal in bigger cities while thriving in suburban and rural areas.
In the coming months, Benjamin and I will develop an article investigating the VB's various articulations of environmental issues, focusing on five key themes: energy, climate, nature, agriculture, and mobility. These themes reflect the VB's core environmental positions that emerged during significant environmental events and debates in Belgium between 2019 and 2024. The aim is to examine how these articulations are shaped by the interplay between the VB's nationalism, authoritarianism, populism, and potentially also conservatism. This will help us understand how the VB's different ideological components interact to shape its approach to environmental politics.
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