The impact of radical right-wing parties in West European democracies

2007 ◽  
Vol 44 (06) ◽  
pp. 44-3523-44-3523
2016 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huib Pellikaan ◽  
Sarah L. de Lange ◽  
Tom W.G. van der Meer

Like many party systems across Western Europe, the Dutch party system has been in flux since 2002 as a result of a series of related developments, including the decline of mainstream parties which coincided with the emergence of radical right-wing populist parties and the concurrent dimensional transformation of the political space. This article analyses how these challenges to mainstream parties fundamentally affected the structure of party competition. On the basis of content analysis of party programmes, we examine the changing configuration of the Dutch party space since 2002 and investigate the impact of these changes on coalition-formation patterns. We conclude that the Dutch party system has become increasingly unstable. It has gradually lost its core through electoral fragmentation and mainstream parties’ positional shifts. The disappearance of a core party that dominates the coalition-formation process initially transformed the direction of party competition from centripetal to centrifugal. However, since 2012 a theoretically novel configuration has emerged in which no party or coherent group of parties dominates competition.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 424-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoffer Green-Pedersen ◽  
Simon Otjes

The party politics of immigration is one of the fastest growing bodies of research within the study of West European politics. Within this literature, an underlying assumption is that immigration has become one of the most salient issues. However, this is rarely documented, let alone explained. Drawing on a new coding of party manifestos in seven West European countries, this article shows that party attention to immigration has grown in all countries since 1980 but only in Denmark has the issue become one of the most salient issues of party politics. We find that the general increase in attention reflects the rising number of immigrants and rise of radical right-wing parties. In terms of the issue becoming a top issue of party politics, a comparative analysis of the politicization of immigration in Denmark and the Netherlands shows that the interest of mainstream right-wing parties and coalition dynamics are the crucial factors.


2002 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 43-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
David P. Conradt

After ten years of research on Germany’s postunification politicalculture, there is no scholarly consensus on the critical questions ofeast-west differences, the impact of unification on western Germanculture, and developmental trends in the two regions. These questionshave become more acute in the light of decreased eastern economicgrowth, high unemployment, and growing evidence of aradical right-wing subculture in the new states.


1998 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Minkenberg

International comparisons of new radical right-wing parties usuallyfocus on differences in electoral fortunes, party organizations, andleadership styles and conclude that Germany stands out as a specialcase of successful marginalization of the new radical right. Explanationsfor this German anomaly point at the combined effects of Germanhistory and institutional arrangements of the Federal Republicof Germany, of ideological dilemmas and strategic failures of thevarious parties of the new radical right, and the efforts of the establishedpolitical parties to prevent the rise of new parties to the rightof them. By implication, this means that, whereas in countries likeFrance or Austria the new radical right plays a significant role in politicsto the point of changing the political systems themselves, theGerman counterpart has a negligible impact and has little or noeffects on politics and polity.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 325-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonce Röth ◽  
Alexandre Afonso ◽  
Dennis C. Spies

Because they are now members of most Western European parliaments, Populist Radical Right Parties (PRRPs) have the potential to influence the formulation of socio-economic policies. However, scholarly attention so far has nearly exclusively focussed on the impact of PRRPs on what is considered their ‘core issue’, that is migration policy. In this paper, we provide the first mixed methods comparative study of the impact of PRRPs on redistributive and (de-)regulative economic policies. Combining quantitative data with qualitative case studies, our results show that the participation of PRRPs in right-wing governments has noteworthy implications for socio-economic policies. Due to the heterogeneous constituencies of PRRPs, these parties not only refrain from welfare state retrenchment but are also less inclined to engage in deregulation compared with right-wing governments without PRRP participation.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Erik R. Tillman

This chapter introduces the puzzle and motivation for the book. Rising support for populist radical right parties in Western Europe and increasing polarization over European integration represent a change from the politics of the 1990s. Radical right parties or candidates have achieved new levels of electoral support in many West European countries. At the same time, though, mainstream values have become increasingly liberal. Thus, recent years have not simply seen a resurgence of right-wing nationalism in Western Europe; they have seen greater polarization concerning issues of national identity and community. In short, West European electoral politics is evolving from conflict based around cleavages such as class to a new dimension of conflict centring on questions of identity, culture, and the demarcation of national boundaries. This chapter reviews existing accounts of this electoral evolution before providing an overview of this book’s arguments and findings.


Significance Nearly ten months into the ‘parallel powers’ situation, ‘interim president’ Juan Guaido’s accumulation of public relations gaffes is beginning to weigh heavily. While facing an escalation of external pressures and the possibility of a new round of multilateral sanctions, President Nicolas Maduro has assumed the upper hand. Impacts The opposition will reach out to international allies in an attempt to make up lost ground in the struggle against Maduro. The impact of US sanctions will continue to mount on Venezuelans at home and overseas without advancing regime change goals. Bolton’s departure has eroded -- if temporarily -- the influence of more radical right-wing elements around Guaido.


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