Selective Irredentism in Populist Radical Right Discourse in Romania

This article introduces selective irredentism to explain why Romanian populist radical right actors emphasize some territorial claims but not others. Romania’s history involves both territorial gains (Transylvania) and losses (Bessarabia, Bukovina). Populist radical right parties do not invoke irredentism uniformly, highlighting some losses as injustices while treating other issues as settled or defensive. Through a framing analysis of manifestos and online content from AUR and S.O.S. Romania (2022–2025), the article shows that territories lost to Ukraine and Moldova are framed as humiliating betrayals and victimization. In contrast, Transylvania is portrayed as threatened by actors inside and out. This selective framing enables these parties to contest Ukraine and Moldova’s borders while rejecting Hungarian claims. Selective irredentism thus becomes a rhetorical strategy to position themselves as national defenders without explicitly calling for active territorial revisionism.