This paper questions the thesis that there has been a structural difference in the evolution of Northwestern Europe (NWE) and Southern Europe (SE) party systems following the Great Recession of 2008. According to an influential stream of literature, transformations of politics after the Recession and the subsequent euro and migrant crises have been led by populist radical right (PRR) parties in NWE and by populist radical left (PRL) parties in SE. The analysis supporting this thesis focuses on five NWE and four SE countries. First, we explore electoral results, stressing that: the more recent elections have witnessed the surge of PRR and the setback of PRL parties in SE; PRR parties have strengthened far more in SE than in NWE; the latter region has reacted to the crises in a heterogeneous way. Secondly, we rely on the European Values Study (EVS) surveys to verify whether, even before the rise of right-wing populism in SE, NWE and SE citizens shared similar orientations on four issues: immigration, European integration, “authoritarianism vs liberal democracy” and “State vs market”. We then examine whether, during the long crisis-decade, there has been an alignment between Northwestern and Southern Europeans on these four issues. Our findings have remarkable implications for grasping the common reasons behind the success of the populist right in several European political systems.
The european radical right populism during the “long crisis-decade” (2008-2019)
Lorenzo Viviani
2022-01-01
Abstract
This paper questions the thesis that there has been a structural difference in the evolution of Northwestern Europe (NWE) and Southern Europe (SE) party systems following the Great Recession of 2008. According to an influential stream of literature, transformations of politics after the Recession and the subsequent euro and migrant crises have been led by populist radical right (PRR) parties in NWE and by populist radical left (PRL) parties in SE. The analysis supporting this thesis focuses on five NWE and four SE countries. First, we explore electoral results, stressing that: the more recent elections have witnessed the surge of PRR and the setback of PRL parties in SE; PRR parties have strengthened far more in SE than in NWE; the latter region has reacted to the crises in a heterogeneous way. Secondly, we rely on the European Values Study (EVS) surveys to verify whether, even before the rise of right-wing populism in SE, NWE and SE citizens shared similar orientations on four issues: immigration, European integration, “authoritarianism vs liberal democracy” and “State vs market”. We then examine whether, during the long crisis-decade, there has been an alignment between Northwestern and Southern Europeans on these four issues. Our findings have remarkable implications for grasping the common reasons behind the success of the populist right in several European political systems.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
