Mapping extreme right ideology: an empirical geography of the European extreme right

Abstract

Why is the discourse of extreme right parties so hard to characterize? Why are some parties so much more successful than others? And why do they even seem to attract different kinds of voters? This book proposes a new multidimensional model of extreme right politics based on alternative expressions of negative identity and authoritarianism. The model is comprehensively tested across 17 European political systems and 25 parties, using a text-analysis of party manifestoes and press releases over time, a mass survey of extreme right voters, interviews with leaders and a systematic decryption of parties' electoral results over 30 years. The book shows how the European extreme right is 'mapped' by the various ideological positions espoused by parties and voters, and how the 'match' between parties' discourses and voters' preferences determines the evolution of extreme right ideology, patterns of competition, and ultimately dynamics of electoral success