On 7 October 2026, the Rio School on Global Governance, Democracy and Human Rights was honored to welcome Prof. Andrea Ribeiro Hoffmann, Associate Professor at the Institute of International Relations at PUC-Rio. The course is held by the FGV Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, co-funded by the European Union under the Erasmus+ programme and directed by Prof. Paula Wojcikiewicz Almeida.

In her lecture, moderated by Prof. Paula Wojcikiewicz Almeida, Prof. Hoffmann examined the challenges posed by the rise of the far-right in the European Union and the forms of resistance to this trend. She began by explaining the main features of the EU as a multi-level governance system and explored the increasing politicization of the subject of European integration in public debate. Against this backdrop of growing polarization, far-right parties have achieved unprecedented levels of representation in the European Parliament. She identified several factors that have contributed to this development, including increasing inequality within countries, nationalism, ideological extremism and populism.

In the second part of the class, Prof. Hoffmann addressed the EU’s response to democratic crises. She explained that most of the recent crises (such as in Hungary and Poland) are not as clear-cut as coups d’état, but rather involve the slow regression of rights. The EU has instruments to respond to democratic crises, including democratic conditionality for accession candidates and infringement procedures for Member States. These crises are often linked to the growth of the far-right and populism, which can be explained by factors such as the convergence of mainstream parties, the transnational diffusion of political ideologies, economic inequality, and ethnocultural nationalism. At the same time, she stressed that each country has its own historical legacies and political context, many of which remain unresolved. Consequently, while common patterns of democratic backsliding can be identified, their manifestations vary significantly across societies, countries, and regions.

We extend our sincere thanks to Prof. Hoffmann for sharing her knowledge with us. We look forward to further collaboration.