scholarly journals Political and ideological normalization: quality of government, mainstream-right ideological positions and extreme-right support

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Christos Vrakopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Extreme Right ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Electoral Success ◽  
Electoral Support ◽  
Radical Right Parties ◽  
Post War ◽  
Democratic Parties ◽  
Party Family ◽  
Extreme Right Parties

Abstract This article aims to explain the variation in the electoral support for extreme-right parties (ERPs) in Europe. The extant literature on the far-right party family does not answer this question specifically with regard to the extreme-right variants for two main reasons. Firstly, theories did not expect the electoral success of these parties in post-war Europe due to their anti-democratic profiles and association with fascism. Secondly, despite the fact that they acknowledge the differences between the parties under the far-right umbrella – namely, the extreme and the radical – they normally do not take these differences into account, and if so, they focus on the radical-right parties. This article shows that electoral support for ERPs is associated with low quality of government and highly conservative mainstream-right parties. The former creates political legitimization for anti-democratic parties and the latter ideological normalization of extreme right.

scholarly journals Extreme right parties in Europe today: definition and electoral performance

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (17) ◽  
pp. 124
Author(s):  
Aline Burni
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Background ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Extreme Right ◽  
European Elections ◽  
Electoral Support ◽  
Democratic Systems ◽  
Europe Today ◽  
Party Family ◽  
Electoral Performance ◽  
Extreme Right Parties

Since the 1980’s, many European countries known for their consolidated democratic systems, have experienced the unexpected electoral emergence of so-called extreme right or populist radical right parties. With the development of recent elections in the Netherlands, France, Germany and Austria, extreme right parties such as the Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV), the French National Front (FN), the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) have attracted attention both from the media and in academic investigation, because of their radical and populist appeals, as well as their relevant electoral results. What do these parties have in common? Do they belong to a single party family? More recently, what has been their electoral support in different countries and types of elections? To contribute to introductory comparative understanding about this topic, this paper will examine the existing literature, and analyze descriptive electoral data of recent contests. The aims of this work are twofold. First, it intends to provide theoretical background about discussions on the terminology and party family definition, which will be done grounded on the specialized literature. I argue that extreme right parties can be defined based on three features: identitarian politics, authoritarian values and a populist style. Second, this work assesses the current electoral performance of main extreme right parties across European countries, using descriptive data collected from three platforms: “ParlGov”, “Parties and Elections in Europe” and “European Elections Database”.

Education and Anti-Immigration Attitudes: Evidence from Compulsory Schooling Reforms across Western Europe

2018 ◽  
Vol 113 (1) ◽  
pp. 254-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHARLOTTE CAVAILLE ◽  
JOHN MARSHALL
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Compulsory Schooling ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Secondary Schooling ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Immigration Attitudes ◽  
Post War

Low levels of education are a powerful predictor of anti-immigration sentiment. However, there is little consensus on the interpretation of this correlation: is it causal or is it an artifact of selection bias? We address this question by exploiting six major compulsory schooling reforms in five Western European countries—Denmark, France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Sweden—that have recently experienced politically influential anti-immigration movements. On average, we find that compelling students to remain in secondary school for at least an additional year decreases anti-immigration attitudes later in life. Instrumental variable estimates demonstrate that, among such compliers, an additional year of secondary schooling substantially reduces the probability of opposing immigration, believing that immigration erodes a country’s quality of life, and feeling close to far-right anti-immigration parties. These results suggest that rising post-war educational attainment has mitigated the rise of anti-immigration movements. We discuss the mechanisms and implications for future research examining anti-immigration sentiment.

Electoral Institutions, Unemployment and Extreme Right Parties: A Correction

2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 525-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
MATT GOLDER
Keyword(s):  
European Countries ◽  
Electoral Institutions ◽  
Extreme Right ◽  
Electoral Success ◽  
Extreme Right Parties ◽  
West European

In their 1996 article in this Journal, Robert Jackman and Karin Volpert analyse the systematic conditions that influence the electoral success of extreme right parties in sixteen West European countries from 1970 to 1990. In particular, they focus on the effects of unemployment, electoral thresholds and multi-partism.

Up and down with the Extreme Right in Germany, 1949–1996

Politics ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Saalfeld
Keyword(s):  
West Germany ◽  
The Political ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Political Opportunity Structure ◽  
Political Opportunity ◽  
Extreme Right ◽  
Strategic Choices ◽  
Opportunity Structure ◽  
Electoral Success ◽  
Post War

In the post-war period, (West) Germany has witnessed several cycles of extreme right-wing protest. In this article, the dynamics of these cycles will be studied. What are the causes of the cyclical ‘ups’ and ‘downs’ in the extreme right's electoral fortunes? Are the cycles of violent activity related to the cycles of electoral success? In order to address these questions, the extreme right will be analysed as a social movement whose activities are a result of the interplay between the political opportunity structure and the strategic choices made by extreme right-wing activists

Jobbik's successes. An analysis of its success in the comparative context of the V4 countries

2016 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 323-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miroslav Mareš ◽  
Vratislav Havlík
Keyword(s):  
Political Movements ◽  
Extreme Right ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
National Assembly ◽  
Five Factors ◽  
Major Player ◽  
Negotiation Style ◽  
Political Conditions ◽  
Democratic Parties ◽  
Extreme Right Parties

The success of Jobbik, an extreme-right party in Hungary, is unique in its success compared with other extreme right parties in the Visegrad 4 countries of Central Europe. In contrast to parties in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland, Jobbik has managed to make substantial electoral gains and is a major player in the National Assembly in Hungary. This paper discusses five factors that show how the rise of Jobbik was possible. They are: a tradition of extreme right political movements, a party cleavage structure shaped by morals rather than socioeconomics, a specific national electoral geography, the negotiation style of the party and finally its reaction on the crisis of traditional democratic parties. In contrast to the other V4 nations, only Hungary has these elements present. This text explores each of these factors in a comparative context to demonstrate how Jobbik was able to take advantage of Hungarian political conditions in a way that extreme right parties in other Central European nations cannot.

scholarly journals Nordic dog whistles. Analyzing discriminatory discourses in the parlance of the Scandinavian radical right parties

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-40
Author(s):  
Luiza-Maria Filimon
Keyword(s):  
Radical Right ◽  
The Political ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Electoral Success ◽  
People's Party ◽  
Radical Right Parties ◽  
Case Basis

The Nordic states had an active radical right presence long before the economic and refugee crises that swept the shores of the European Union (EU) left in their wake a reinvigorated right-wing contingent. The radical right parties (RRPs) have not only registered various degrees of electoral success, but have also made inroads into the political mainstream. The three defining characteristics that set these parties apart from the more traditional far-right ones are: 1) the repudiation of hardcore extremism; 2) the search for political viability; and 3) the acquisition of mainstream recognition. The present article argues that as these parties compete for legitimacy, they are forced to alter their discriminatory rhetoric by switching tonal registers. One of the political strategies that enables them to put the outright “overt” in the “covert” is the recourse to dog whistle politics. How well can they overcome the stigma associated with their more extreme reflexes depends on a case by case basis. This article examines whether the four most prominent examples of Nordic radicalism (the Danish People’s Party, Finns Party, Sweden Democrats, and Norway’s Progress Party) have integrated dog whistles in their political messaging and tracks how these coded appeals change from one country to another. In analyzing the response to the 2015 refugee crisis, the study finds that to a certain extent, the rhetoric utilized falls into the coded register or at the very least purposefully attempts to veer away from the radical excesses which are marginalizing and self-exclusionary.

Conditions Favouring Parties of the Extreme Right in Western Europe

1996 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 501-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. Jackman ◽  
Karin Volpert
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Political Movements ◽  
Extreme Right ◽  
Electoral Success ◽  
Empirical Estimates ◽  
Electoral Support ◽  
West European Politics ◽  
Favourable Environment

We examine the systemic conditions that have influenced the electoral success of parties of the extreme right in West European politics from 1970 through 1990. Empirical estimates based on 103 elections in sixteen countries suggest that electoral and party-system factors interact with each other to generate conditions conducive to these parties. Specifically, increasing electoral thresholds dampen support for the extreme right as the number of parliamentary parties expands. At the same time, multi-partism increasingly fosters parties of the extreme right with rising electoral proportionality. Our analyses also indicate that higher rates of unemployment provide a favourable environment for these political movements. These results suggest that levels of electoral support for the extreme right are sensitive to factors that can be modified through policy instruments.

scholarly journals Mainstream Party Strategies Towards Extreme Right Parties: The French 2007 and 2012 Presidential Elections

2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 365-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
João Carvalho
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Presidential Elections ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Extreme Right ◽  
Electoral Success ◽  
Party Strategies ◽  
Strategic Options ◽  
Disproportionate Number ◽  
Mainstream Party ◽  
Extreme Right Parties

The electoral success of extreme right parties (ERPs) has attracted a disproportionate number of studies. By contrast, research into the mainstream parties’ reactions to ERPs has engendered little interest. With few exceptions, the effects of the centre-right parties’ strategic options in electoral competitions with ERPs remain unexplored. To overcome this shortcoming, this investigation examines the strategies employed by the French centre-right party – Union pour un Movement Populaire (UMP) against the Front National in the 2007 and the 2012 presidential elections by focusing on the topics of immigration and integration. This study suggests that the adoption of accommodating approaches in both elections was followed by distinct levels of success in 2007 and 2012. Drawing on a qualitative comparative analysis, this article explores three hypotheses in order to enhance understanding of the divergent effectiveness of the UMP’s accommodative approaches in the elections studied.

scholarly journals Βία κατά μεταναστών στην Ελλάδα. Μια νέα βάση δεδομένων για το ρεπερτόριο δράσης ακροδεξιών ομάδων (1991-2017)

2018 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 41
Author(s):  
Αναστασία Καφέ ◽  
Βασιλική Γεωργιάδου ◽  
Ζηνοβία Λιαλιούτη
Keyword(s):  
Political Environment ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Extreme Right ◽  
Electoral Success ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Main Research Interest ◽  
The Press ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Violent Action ◽  
Extreme Right Parties

ΠερίληψηΗ ξενοφοβική βία στην Ελλάδα βρίσκεται στο επίκεντρο του ενδιαφέροντος του παρόντος άρθρου. Η μελέτη του φαινομένου αναδεικνύει ευθείες συνδέσεις των δραστών με το χώρο της ακροδεξιάς και ειδικότερα τη Χρυσή Αυγή. Με τη δημιουργία μιας νέας βάσης δεδομένων που στηρίζεται στην εξαντλητική καταγραφή στον Τύπο περιστατικών βίας κατά μεταναστών στο διάστημα 1991-2017, υποστηρίζουμε ότι ο βίαιος ακτιβισμός δεν αποτελεί απλή συνέπεια της εκλογικής ενδυνάμωσης της άκρας δεξιάς, αλλά προϋποθέτει έναν πυρήνα οργανωμένων δρώντων που ανήκουν ή κινούνται στο περιβάλλον της. Από τα δεδομένα μας συνάγεται ότι η εξέλιξη του αριθμού των επιθέσεων κατά μεταναστών δεν συμπίπτει απολύτως με μια αντίστοιχη διακύμανση στον πληθυσμό των μεταναστών. Τούτο σημαίνει ότι οι αντιμεταναστευτικές επιθέσεις δεν αυξάνονται απαραιτήτως όταν ο αριθμός των μεταναστών είναι μεγάλος, αλλά μπορεί να εμφανίζονται συχνότερα σε περιόδους και περιοχές που παρατηρείται ξαφνική είσοδος μεταναστών. Αν στις περιοχές αυτές εντοπίζονται οργανωμένοι πυρήνες της άκρας δεξιάς και ειδικότερα της Χρυσής Αυγής, τότε είναι συχνό το φαινόμενο των επιθέσεων κατά μεταναστών. AbstractThe main research interest of this article focuses on the issue of xenophobic violence in Greece. The study of this phenomenon highlights its direct connection to extreme right-wing actors that are particularly associated with Golden Dawn. With the creation of a new database of violent incidents against immigrants during the period 1991-2017 constructed upon material from the press, we argue that violent activism is not merely a consequence of the electoral success of extreme right parties but it presupposes a cell of organized actors that belong to or move around this specific political environment. Moreover, our data suggest that the quantitative evolution of anti-immigrant attacks does not coincide with the size of immigration. This means that anti-immigrant attacks are not necessarily traced in areas with high migrant population but may be more frequent in areas where the entry of immigrants increases instantly. This trend is reinforced by the presence of organized cells of extreme right orientation - and especially Golden Dawn - that coordinate anti-immigrant violent action.

scholarly journals The Resurgence of the Radical Right in European Policy

2020 ◽  
pp. 182-192
Author(s):  
Aleksandr Shaparov ◽  
◽  
Ekaterina Sin'kova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Institutions ◽  
Radical Right ◽  
The Political ◽  
National Parliaments ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Electoral Success ◽  
Political Communications ◽  
Radical Right Parties ◽  
Governmental Institutions ◽  
The Right

This article analyzed the rise of far-right political parties and movements in the most developed European countries - Germany, France, Sweden, Austria, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway as well as in the Visegrád Group. The current direction of the political and social development of those major European states shows great resemblance to the 1980s. The political framework is defined by escalating disappointment in social and governmental institutions, growing political fragmentation and increasing complexity of political communications. Under such circumstances radical right parties firmly secured their presence in the national parliaments and enhanced it over the last decade. Alongside their electoral success on the supranational level, it indicates significant alterations in the European political landscape. A new reality is being built while the right radicalism strives to demarginalize itself with its high adaptivity to the essential political institutions. The article analyzed causes and consequences of the ongoing changes. It suggested a new angle to assess the present radical right’s policy effects. Proceeding from the neoinstitutional approach it provided an insight into the key assumptions of radical right, far-right contagion and institutional isomorphism, while outlining the electoral dynamics and distribution of the radical right parties and assembling the concepts of their classification.

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