Everyday Comparatism Young Muslims and the Right Turn in Belgium and France

To what extent do citizens pay attention to political developments abroad? How does such attention shape their relationship to politics and political institutions in their own country? Drawing on a comparative study of young Muslim descendants of migrants in France and French-speaking Belgium, this article examines comparison as an ordinary social practice. It analyses how perceptions of contemporary rightward political shifts are shaped through references to other national contexts. In doing so, the article challenges methodological nationalism in the study of citizens’ relationships to politics and demonstrates the value, for comparative political sociology, of treating comparison not only as a method but also as an object of inquiry.