scholarly journals The Environment and Populist Radical Right in Eastern Europe: The Case of National Alliance 2010–2018

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 8092
Author(s):  
Péteris F Timofejevs

Although the literature on populist radical right parties (PRRP) in Western and Eastern Europe has expanded considerably in the last two decades, relatively little is known about the views on nature and the environment of the PRRP in Eastern Europe. This study focuses on the Latvian PRRP “National Alliance” (NA), which has not only been a coalition government partner since 2011, but occupied a ministerial post tasked with environmental policy from 2014 to 2019. This article examines how the NA viewed nature, the environment, and governance for sustainability in the period 2010–2018, and more specifically, whether and to what extent the NA’s vision of nature and the environment was compatible with its sustainable development position. The study employs qualitative content analysis examining the official party literature. The results indicate that the party’s vision embraced the sustainable development position in its declaratory statements on nature and environmental policy. The NA’s views on governance for sustainability demonstrate a strong statist preference, downplaying more participatory approaches, thus departing from the sustainable development governance position.

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 307-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petar Bankov ◽  
Sergiu Gherghina ◽  
Nanuli Silagadze

Many populist radical right parties compete on a regular basis in the Bulgarian legislative elections. Among these, the VMRO–Balgarsko Natsionalno Dvizhenie (VMRO-BND, IMRO–Bulgarian National Movement) enjoys the greatest organizational stability and maintains a regular presence in politics and society despite volatile electoral performance. Using qualitative content analysis of official party documents (programs, statutes, and policy papers) and media reports, this article argues that the organizational stability of the VMRO-BND stems from its grassroots efforts to establish deep links in society. While its membership is limited, the local activities of the party between and during elections, and its network of loosely-affiliated organizations create a grandiose impression of presence across Bulgaria. Through this presence, VMRO-BND fosters a sense of belonging for its members which in turn supports the party’s goal of achieving a so-called “national cultural unity” and the preservation of Bulgarian traditions. Internally, VMRO-BND provides room for non-member participation and bottom-up initiatives from local activists, while remaining strongly centralized at the top around its leader, Krasimir Karakachanov. Overall, VMRO-BND reveals the importance populist radical right parties place on social presence, even when membership numbers are low.


2013 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 600-629 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea L.P. Pirro

The recent electoral performances of the Bulgarian Ataka, Hungarian Jobbik, and the Slovak National Party seem to confirm the pervasive appeal of the populist radical right in Central and Eastern Europe. Unlike their Western counterparts, these parties do not stem from a ‘silent counter-revolution’. Populist radical right parties in the region retain features sui generis, partly in relation to their historical legacies and the idiosyncrasies of the post-communist context. After distinguishing between pre-communist, communist and post-communist issues, this article discerns commonalities and differences in the ideology of the three parties by a content analysis of the party literatures. The analysis shows that populist radical right parties in Central and Eastern Europe are fairly ‘like minded’, yet they do not constitute an entirely homogeneous group. While a minimum combination of ideological features reveals that only clericalism and opposition to ethnic minorities are shared by all three parties, a maximum combination would extend this to irredentism, anti-corruption and Euroscepticism.


Think India ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 972-978
Author(s):  
Manisha Jetly ◽  
Dr. Nandita Singh

Education for sustainable development (ESD) enjoys a huge momentum worldwide in which the role of teachers for making sustainable development goals a reality has been recognized significantly. Teachers through their knowledge, attitudes and skills can bring the learning about these concepts to the curriculum and class room interaction and are in a position to influence their students. Therefore it is pertinent, that teachers are sensitised towards these issues, so that they prepare and nurture their students for making appropriate and responsible choices which contribute to a sustainable future. At this juncture it becomes crucial to understand their priorities and awareness level in context of the sustainable development. The present research paper aims to analyse the perception of forty post graduate pre-service teachers of the Chandigarh region, towards ESD through the dimensions of economic sustainability, environmental sustainability, social sustainability and cultural sustainability. For this researchers have adopted qualitative content analysis methodology for an in-depth study of the subjective responses through an open ended question. The findings suggest that most of the respondents associated the perception of ESD strongly with environmental sustainability. It is noted that the pre-service teachers lack a holistic approach towards ESD. On the basis of the findings it is recommended that there is an urgent need of integrating the concept of ESD consciously and conscientiously in India’s teacher education programmes.


2021 ◽  
pp. 001041402199716
Author(s):  
Winston Chou ◽  
Rafaela Dancygier ◽  
Naoki Egami ◽  
Amaney A. Jamal

As populist radical right parties muster increasing support in many democracies, an important question is how mainstream parties can recapture their voters. Focusing on Germany, we present original panel evidence that voters supporting the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD)—the country’s largest populist radical right party—resemble partisan loyalists with entrenched anti-establishment views, seemingly beyond recapture by mainstream parties. Yet this loyalty does not only reflect anti-establishment voting, but also gridlocked party-issue positioning. Despite descriptive evidence of strong party loyalty, experimental evidence reveals that many AfD voters change allegiances when mainstream parties accommodate their preferences. However, for most parties this repositioning is extremely costly. While mainstream parties can attract populist radical right voters via restrictive immigration policies, they alienate their own voters in doing so. Examining position shifts across issue dimensions, parties, and voter groups, our research demonstrates that, absent significant changes in issue preferences or salience, the status quo is an equilibrium.


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