On Monday, 23 February 2026, the Institute of Contemporary History (Inštitut za novejšo zgodovino, INZ) in Ljubljana hosted a seminar titled “Circulation of Extremist Narratives through the Parliaments: Current National and European Contexts.” The event brought together researchers, NGO representatives, and other stakeholders both in person and online via Zoom, and marked a significant milestone in the ongoing work of the ARENAS project (Analysis of and Responses to Extremist Narratives), funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme.
The seminar was organised as part of the work of Work Package 3 (WP3) of ARENAS, which focuses on mapping how extremist narratives circulate across historical, national, and transnational political contexts. One of WP3’s core tasks, led by INZ, is the collection and analysis of parliamentary discourses produced by extreme right-wing and populist parties across a range of European countries, from Slovenia and Croatia to Spain, France, Finland, Hungary, and Germany. The ultimate goal is to chart how these narratives travel across languages, borders, and institutions, and eventually to produce a comprehensive report on their translinguistic and transnational circulation in national parliaments and the European Parliament. The Ljubljana seminar was planned for precisely this purpose.
The day was structured around three thematic sessions that reflected the three main subject areas ARENAS investigates: nation, gender, and science. The opening keynote was delivered by Ines Soldwisch, who examined radical right narratives in the European Parliament between 2015 and 2024. The subsequent sessions featured presentations by researchers from the ARENAS consortium, including Steven Forti, Ana Yara Postigo Fuentes, Gwenaëlle Bauvois, Nathalie Paris, Simo Määttä, Claudia Jareño Gila, Sergi Soler, Tjaša Konovšek, and also by Filip Dobranić, a researcher at INZ and an NGO activist in Slovenia. The seminar was moderated by Marko Zajc, Isidora Grubački, and Jure Gašparič.
Discussion throughout the day was grounded in a report currently being prepared by the ARENAS team, and due for publication in the coming months. It also drew on the broader expertise that participants brought from their own research. This combination of structured analytical work and wider scholarly exchange gave the seminar a dual character: it was both a working session for the team advancing the WP3 deliverable and an open forum for critical discussion about one of the most pressing challenges facing European democracies today.