Far-right narratives reshape policy long before any policy changes.
Most organisations only see them when it's already too late.
I help foundations, campaigns, and policy teams in Europe and Latin America detect, decode, and respond to illiberal discourse — combining rigorous comparative research with computational text analysis.
Book a 30-minute scoping callWho I work with
My work is built around four types of clients who need fast, rigorous analysis at the intersection of politics, discourse, and democratic resilience.
- Foundations and policy organisations researching democratic backsliding and the rise of the far right.
- Political campaigns that need rapid rhetorical analysis, debate preparation, and strategic messaging support.
- Think tanks and research institutes building monitoring frameworks for far-right movements and illiberal discourse.
- Risk and intelligence teams covering political developments in Europe and Latin America.
What I offer
Four ways to work together, from one-off commissioned analyses to recurring monitoring.
Commissioned Reports & Policy Briefs
Standalone analytical reports on specific questions at the intersection of far-right politics, democratic resilience, and regional dynamics in Europe and Latin America.
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Commissioned Reports & Policy Briefs
Standalone analytical reports on specific questions at the intersection of far-right politics, democratic resilience, and regional dynamics in Europe and Latin America.
- Format:
- 10–25 pages. Executive summary, key findings, and concrete recommendations.
- Timeline:
- 3–6 weeks from scoping to delivery.
- Past clients include:
- Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, FEPS, CLACAI.
- Best for:
- organisations that need a deep-dive analysis they can publish, share internally, or use as the foundation for their own programmatic work.
Custom Corpus Analysis with LLMs
Large-scale discourse analysis using computational methods to map far-right narratives across media, social platforms, parliamentary records, or interview transcripts.
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Custom Corpus Analysis with LLMs
Large-scale discourse analysis using computational methods to map far-right narratives across media, social platforms, parliamentary records, or interview transcripts.
- Format:
- custom, based on corpus size and research questions. Includes methodology documentation, coded dataset, and analytical report.
- Timeline:
- 4–10 weeks depending on scope.
- Recent example:
- GPT-5–based coding of 2,500+ political interview responses across Spain and Argentina for the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (2025).
- Best for:
- organisations that need to analyse political discourse at a scale traditional methods cannot match — whether tracking rhetorical shifts over time, comparing actors across countries, or building an early-warning framework.
Rapid-Response Memos
Fast-turnaround analytical memos in the wake of electoral shocks, policy shifts, or breaking political developments that reshape the landscape for your work.
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Rapid-Response Memos
Fast-turnaround analytical memos in the wake of electoral shocks, policy shifts, or breaking political developments that reshape the landscape for your work.
- Format:
- 4–8 pages. Focused, actionable, written for a policy audience.
- Timeline:
- 48–72 hours from request to delivery, with prior context on your area of interest.
- Best for:
- organisations and campaigns that need expert analysis faster than traditional academic channels can provide — for internal briefings, board updates, press responses, or strategic decisions under time pressure.
Recurring Monitoring & Intelligence Briefings
Regular reports on far-right movements, electoral dynamics, and democratic resilience indicators, tailored to your region and sector.
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Recurring Monitoring & Intelligence Briefings
Regular reports on far-right movements, electoral dynamics, and democratic resilience indicators, tailored to your region and sector.
- Format:
- monthly or quarterly briefings, typically 8–15 pages. Can include rhetoric tracking, actor mapping, and risk indicators.
- Timeline:
- ongoing retainer, scoped at the start of the engagement.
- Best for:
- organisations that need continuous situational awareness rather than one-off analyses — foundation programme teams, risk departments, and think tanks building their own monitoring capacity.
Debate Preparation & Rhetorical Counter-Strategy
Tailored debate preparation, rival analysis, and counter-rhetorical strategy for campaigns and coalitions facing far-right or populist opponents. Combines in-depth discourse analysis of the rival candidate's rhetorical patterns, structured vulnerability mapping, calibrated response lines, and strategic framing across the full debate or campaign arc.
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Debate Preparation & Rhetorical Counter-Strategy
Tailored debate preparation, rival analysis, and counter-rhetorical strategy for campaigns and coalitions facing far-right or populist opponents. Combines in-depth discourse analysis of the rival candidate's rhetorical patterns, structured vulnerability mapping, calibrated response lines, and strategic framing across the full debate or campaign arc.
- Format:
- custom — from single-debate preparation briefs (analytical report + counter-strategy + graphics) to multi-stage campaign engagements.
- Timeline:
- from 72 hours for urgent single-debate preparation to multi-week strategic engagements.
- Best for:
- political campaigns, party leadership teams, and pro-democracy coalitions that need to face far-right or populist candidates with analytical rigour, not just intuition.
Selected work
A few examples of commissioned analytical work from the past two years.
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The question.
How can we detect early signs of democratic erosion in political discourse, before they translate into policy change?
The work.
Co-designed and ran a GPT-5–based coding pipeline on more than 2,500 political interview responses from leaders across Spain and Argentina. Built a quantitative framework for identifying which institutional arenas — courts, media, opposition, electoral integrity, civil liberties — are under rhetorical attack, from which political blocs, and with what intensity.
The result.
A published policy paper for the FES Democratic Expeditions series, co-organised with the CEU Democracy Institute. The methodology is now a working framework adaptable to other countries and timeframes, and provides an early-warning diagnostic for democratic actors working on the ground.
Apoyo y rechazo a la ultraderecha en América Latina
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, 2022–2024public document+
Apoyo y rechazo a la ultraderecha en América Latina
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, 2022–2024public documentThe question.
What explains the rise of the far right in Chile, Argentina, and Brazil, and how do voter coalitions compare across the three countries?
The work.
Led and co-authored a series of commissioned reports for FES Chile analysing the support base, discourse, and political strategies of far-right actors in the Southern Cone. Combined original survey data with qualitative analysis of political programmes and campaign rhetoric.
The result.
Four policy reports published in the FES library, widely circulated among progressive foundations and policy teams in Latin America. The analysis has been cited by international media covering Chilean and Argentine politics and continues to inform programmatic work across the region.
Far-Right Mobilisation and Sexual & Reproductive Rights
CLACAI, 2024private document+
Far-Right Mobilisation and Sexual & Reproductive Rights
CLACAI, 2024private documentThe question.
How do the global attacks on sexual and reproductive rights connect with the broader rise of far-right movements, democratic erosion, and lawfare strategies reshaping Latin American politics?
The work.
Wrote a commissioned analytical essay for the Latin American Consortium Against Unsafe Abortion, framing anti-rights mobilisation within the broader landscape of populist and illiberal political transformations in the region. Drew on comparative research across multiple countries to connect what are often treated as separate debates.
The result.
Delivered as part of a series commissioned by CLACAI to help reproductive-rights organisations understand and respond to the macro-political dynamics shaping their field. Used by the organisation to inform strategic planning and advocacy work.
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The question.
Who supports and who rejects the far right in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile — and what distinguishes these two groups ideologically and sociodemographically?
The work.
Co-designed and administered face-to-face representative surveys in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile (over 5,300 respondents total) with a questionnaire specifically built for comparative far-right analysis. Analysed sociodemographic profiles, ideological preferences, democratic attitudes, and media consumption patterns of voters for and against far-right candidates (Milei, Bolsonaro, Kast).
The result.
A comparative policy report published by FES Chile, showing that far-right supporters across the three countries share low democratic attachment, conservative moral positions, pro-market stances, and punitive security preferences — while differing significantly in sociodemographic terms. The findings inform strategic work by progressive foundations and policy teams across Latin America.
The transformation of the mainstream right and its impact on (social) democracy
FEPS, 2024 — Spain case studypublic document+
The transformation of the mainstream right and its impact on (social) democracy
FEPS, 2024 — Spain case studypublic documentThe question.
How has Spain's mainstream right responded to the rise of the populist radical right, and what does this 'double contagion' dynamic mean for social democracy?
The work.
Authored the Spain chapter of a multi-country FEPS policy study, analysing the radicalisation of the Partido Popular (PP) in response to Vox, and the resulting polarisation that reshapes Spain's political landscape. Traced how mainstream-right adaptation to far-right positions creates a contagion effect that constrains social democratic strategy.
The result.
Published as Chapter 8 of a major FEPS policy study co-produced with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Fondation Jean-Jaurès, and the Karl-Renner-Institut. The study provides comparative evidence across nine European countries and is used by social democratic parties and progressive foundations to understand and respond to the mainstream right's transformation.
About me
I'm Lisa Zanotti, a comparative political scientist based at the CEU Democracy Institute in Budapest and an associate researcher at Ultra-Lab, the Laboratory for the Study of the Far Right in Santiago de Chile. My research on far-right movements, populism, and democratic backsliding has been published with Cambridge University Press, Routledge, and journals including Political Studies, Government & Opposition, and Nations and Nationalism. I'm a regular commentator in Le Monde, El País, NPR, and The Conversation.
Read more about my research →Frequently asked questions
How do you typically price projects?+
Pricing depends on scope, timeline, and the depth of analysis required. Standalone reports and commissioned briefs are priced per project, while recurring monitoring is scoped as a monthly or quarterly retainer. I'm happy to provide a clear quote after a 20-minute scoping call, once I understand what you're trying to achieve.
How fast can you deliver an analysis?+
Rapid-response memos are part of what I offer precisely because traditional academic channels are too slow for most policy decisions. With prior context on your area of interest, I can deliver a focused 4–8 page analytical memo within 48–72 hours of an electoral shock, policy shift, or breaking development. Longer commissioned reports typically take 3–6 weeks from scoping to delivery.
What regions and topics do you cover?+
My regional focus is Europe and Latin America — the two regions where I've done research and fieldwork for over a decade. Thematically, I work on far-right and populist movements, democratic resilience and backsliding, polarisation, political discourse, and the intersections between far-right mobilisation and human-rights agendas (including sexual and reproductive rights, memory politics, and judicial independence). For computational text analysis, my tools handle political discourse across virtually any language — so region and topic are a better guide to fit than language.
Do you work with smaller organisations or only with large foundations?+
Both. My past work ranges from major international foundations like the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and FEPS to smaller regional organisations like CLACAI. What matters is whether the question you're working on fits my expertise and whether the scope is clear, not the size of your budget. I'd rather do focused work for a smaller organisation than generic work for a large one.
What makes your methodology different from a generic political consultant?+
Two things. First, I bring rigorous training in comparative political science — which means I work with analytical frameworks tested across multiple countries and cases, not intuitions and anecdotes. Second, I combine traditional discourse analysis with large-language-model–based text coding, which allows me to analyse political rhetoric at a scale and speed traditional methods cannot match. The combination of comparative theory and computational method is what distinguishes the work.
Can we start with a small pilot project before committing to something larger?+
Yes, and I actually encourage it. A first commissioned brief or a single rapid-response memo is the best way to see whether my work fits your team's needs and working style. Most longer-term collaborations and retainers start exactly this way — with one well-scoped piece of work that establishes whether the fit is right on both sides.
Do you sign NDAs and handle confidential material?+
Yes, routinely. Confidentiality is standard for advisory work, especially for campaign-related projects and internal briefings for policy teams. I'm comfortable with standard NDA arrangements and with treating sensitive material with appropriate discretion.
What's the first step if I'm interested?+
A 20-minute scoping call, free of charge, no pitch. We talk about what you're working on, what you're trying to achieve, and what the constraints are. I tell you honestly whether I'm the right person to help and, if I am, we move to a written proposal with clear scope, timeline, and cost.
Ready to talk?
Book a 30-minute scoping call — free, no pitch. We'll discuss what you're working on and figure out if there's a fit. If not, I'll point you toward someone who might be a better match.
Schedule a callOr email me directly: lisa.zanotti.a@gmail.com