Meloni, Orbán and the Border in Power: The Expression and Differentiation of Sovereignty in the International Discourse of Populist Radical Right Executives in Europe

Abstract The populist radical right (PRR) is often seen as a political family putting forward the need for securitised border control, a return to territorialised sovereignty and the rejection of multilateral international organisations and agreements. Nevertheless, it remains unclear how PRR leaders in office frame sovereignty when addressing international audiences and justifying their positions on global affairs. Based on a comparative analysis of references to borders and the associated antagonisms between 2022 and 2024 by Giorgia Meloni and Viktor Orbán, this research demonstrates that executive PRR leaders engage in a relativisation of both the scales and the conceptualisation of sovereignty. They adapt their approach to sovereignty according to the situational, institutional and temporal contexts.