Hoorcollege 11-11-19 Populism and radical politics
The causes of populism
They are present and need to be triggered
More critical of authority
We talk more about populism: supply side
Democracy is the only game in town
Complexity: our societies and democracy has become more complex and rule based
Mainstream parties have weaker stories: populism as an answer; as a coping mechanism
Influence of populism
We need to make a distinction between populism and populist actors
Have mainstream parties become more populist?
o Research says not
Does this mean that it has not had an influence?
o Could effect it in different ways; demoticism perhaps
o Could effect how parties try to reach their voters
Should be embedded in larger discussion of democratic innovation
It may be the attaching ideology that is more important
They may mobilize new voters and new issues
Relates to the larger question of populism and democracy
Concluding thoughts
Populism is something very specific
o Has been around for a while, but is less present than is often believed
Populism is important but for different reasons than are often claimed
o Not the most important reason why voters vote for the parties
o But it unites different parties
Populism says something about how party politics is changing
Populism cannot stand on its own (for the most part)
But is populism enough?
Radical politics
Radical and extreme
o The distinction between radical and extreme, the link between radical and extreme
What does it mean to be radical? What does it mean to be extreme?
Extreme: on the ends of the spectrum, spatially; anti-system is implied
Radical: a subset of extreme, challenging/wanting to change the system but
not wanting to overthrow the system
o Historical insights on the evolution of the radical right and the radical left
o Differences between the populist radical right and the populist radical left
o Reasons for their rise
o Who supports them?
The origins of the radical right in the post war era
o Waves of radical politics
First wave (interwar) – will not discuss
, Second wave post WWII to 1970s
Who were radical?
o Communist parties (Italy, France, Spain)
Euro-communism
Communism in a liberal democracy
Communism and the new left
o Neo-Fascist parties
Movimento Sociale Italiano (MSI)
Germany (Empire Party; Social Union)
The Netherlands (center Democrats, Center Party
’86)
o Were they successful?
Italian and the French communist parties
Germany and The Netherlands less so
MSI more so
o What did they want?
The 1970s and the 1980s: things begin to change
New parties
o Norwegian Progress Party
o The Danish Progress Party
From extreme to radical
o The French National Front
Regional parties
o The Northern League
o The Flemish Block
From old to new
o The Swiss People’s Party
o The Austrian People’s Party
Third wave 1980s to now
Why? What did they want? Who supported them?
o It began in Scandinavia
Danish Progress Party (1973)
Founded by Mogens Glistrup
Danes should pay less taxes
Norwegian Progress Party (1973)
Also demanding less taxes
Both parties not associated with the radical or
extreme right
Both parties opposed to the growth of the welfare
state
Moderate non-aligned, lower middle class voters
o Also transformation of more extreme movements
1972 French National Front formed
Jean-Marie Le Pen leader (associated but not
tainted too much)
Ideology: nationalist; anti-communist; strong
state; traditional values; anti-immigration
, Support was low
Lower middle class, men, lower educated
o Transformation of a regionalist movement
Lega Nord
1980s series of small protest leagues formed
in Northern Italy; Veneto; Lombardy
Regional identity, anti-Rome, anti-South
1991 became the Northern League
Early 1990s largest party in the North
Populism, regionalism, anti-South, anti-
immigrant (moderately)
Lower trust, non-aligned, small and medium
sized businesses
Vlaams Belang
Vlaams Blok/Vlaams Belang
1979 splinter group from the Flemish
nationalist movement
Flemish nationalism/extremism
Added: populism; anti-immigration
2004 Vlaams Blok
o Old parties that become radicalized
Austrian Freedom Party
Post war period mix of nationalists, Nazis,
liberals
Joerg Haider takes over in 1986
Charismatic leader
Opposition to mainstream parties
Growing anti-immigrant
Free market
Lower trust, lower middle class, non-aligned
Swiss People’s Party
1990 Christoph Blocker takes over the Zurich
wing of the Swiss People’s Party
Zurich wing increasingly important in the
party
1990s becomes one of the largest Swiss
parties
Anti-immigrant, anti-EU, populist anti-
government themes
Lower trust, lower middle class, non-aligned
Summing the Third Wave (beginning up)
Until the 1990s
o Ideology: what did they want?
Strongly anti-establishment
Market liberal
Increasingly anti-immigrant (but often less
important)
Not necessarily anti-EU
, o Who supported them?
Lower middle class
Some working class
Lower educated
Lower levels of trust
Less aligned voters
o Radical, Extreme and Populist
Two ways to assess:
Versus system
And ideological dimension
They were radical and not extreme
Where they populist?
Slowly began to use populism
Many were more anti-establishment
The Next Wave: late 1990s to now
A convergence towards a party family
What do they want?
Who supports them?
Why do they come about?
Who are these parties?
They are populist:
o People centered
o Anti elite
o Manichean (agonistic)
o Direct will of the people
Thin centered ideology
o Radical Right ideology
Nationalist/exclusion
Nativist
Authoritarian
Strong law and order
Economic: welfare chauvinist; market economy; anti
globalization (less salient)
Who supports them?
o Younger
o Sometimes very much older
o Less educated, but not un-educated
o Working class and lower middle class
o More men than women
o Those who are not unionized, less religious and often less
embedded in classical institutions
o Attitudes
Oppose immigration; lower levels of trust; crime and
law and order; EU; support some form of more
direct democracy
Also those who score higher on the populism scale
Why the radical right?
The causes of populism
They are present and need to be triggered
More critical of authority
We talk more about populism: supply side
Democracy is the only game in town
Complexity: our societies and democracy has become more complex and rule based
Mainstream parties have weaker stories: populism as an answer; as a coping mechanism
Influence of populism
We need to make a distinction between populism and populist actors
Have mainstream parties become more populist?
o Research says not
Does this mean that it has not had an influence?
o Could effect it in different ways; demoticism perhaps
o Could effect how parties try to reach their voters
Should be embedded in larger discussion of democratic innovation
It may be the attaching ideology that is more important
They may mobilize new voters and new issues
Relates to the larger question of populism and democracy
Concluding thoughts
Populism is something very specific
o Has been around for a while, but is less present than is often believed
Populism is important but for different reasons than are often claimed
o Not the most important reason why voters vote for the parties
o But it unites different parties
Populism says something about how party politics is changing
Populism cannot stand on its own (for the most part)
But is populism enough?
Radical politics
Radical and extreme
o The distinction between radical and extreme, the link between radical and extreme
What does it mean to be radical? What does it mean to be extreme?
Extreme: on the ends of the spectrum, spatially; anti-system is implied
Radical: a subset of extreme, challenging/wanting to change the system but
not wanting to overthrow the system
o Historical insights on the evolution of the radical right and the radical left
o Differences between the populist radical right and the populist radical left
o Reasons for their rise
o Who supports them?
The origins of the radical right in the post war era
o Waves of radical politics
First wave (interwar) – will not discuss
, Second wave post WWII to 1970s
Who were radical?
o Communist parties (Italy, France, Spain)
Euro-communism
Communism in a liberal democracy
Communism and the new left
o Neo-Fascist parties
Movimento Sociale Italiano (MSI)
Germany (Empire Party; Social Union)
The Netherlands (center Democrats, Center Party
’86)
o Were they successful?
Italian and the French communist parties
Germany and The Netherlands less so
MSI more so
o What did they want?
The 1970s and the 1980s: things begin to change
New parties
o Norwegian Progress Party
o The Danish Progress Party
From extreme to radical
o The French National Front
Regional parties
o The Northern League
o The Flemish Block
From old to new
o The Swiss People’s Party
o The Austrian People’s Party
Third wave 1980s to now
Why? What did they want? Who supported them?
o It began in Scandinavia
Danish Progress Party (1973)
Founded by Mogens Glistrup
Danes should pay less taxes
Norwegian Progress Party (1973)
Also demanding less taxes
Both parties not associated with the radical or
extreme right
Both parties opposed to the growth of the welfare
state
Moderate non-aligned, lower middle class voters
o Also transformation of more extreme movements
1972 French National Front formed
Jean-Marie Le Pen leader (associated but not
tainted too much)
Ideology: nationalist; anti-communist; strong
state; traditional values; anti-immigration
, Support was low
Lower middle class, men, lower educated
o Transformation of a regionalist movement
Lega Nord
1980s series of small protest leagues formed
in Northern Italy; Veneto; Lombardy
Regional identity, anti-Rome, anti-South
1991 became the Northern League
Early 1990s largest party in the North
Populism, regionalism, anti-South, anti-
immigrant (moderately)
Lower trust, non-aligned, small and medium
sized businesses
Vlaams Belang
Vlaams Blok/Vlaams Belang
1979 splinter group from the Flemish
nationalist movement
Flemish nationalism/extremism
Added: populism; anti-immigration
2004 Vlaams Blok
o Old parties that become radicalized
Austrian Freedom Party
Post war period mix of nationalists, Nazis,
liberals
Joerg Haider takes over in 1986
Charismatic leader
Opposition to mainstream parties
Growing anti-immigrant
Free market
Lower trust, lower middle class, non-aligned
Swiss People’s Party
1990 Christoph Blocker takes over the Zurich
wing of the Swiss People’s Party
Zurich wing increasingly important in the
party
1990s becomes one of the largest Swiss
parties
Anti-immigrant, anti-EU, populist anti-
government themes
Lower trust, lower middle class, non-aligned
Summing the Third Wave (beginning up)
Until the 1990s
o Ideology: what did they want?
Strongly anti-establishment
Market liberal
Increasingly anti-immigrant (but often less
important)
Not necessarily anti-EU
, o Who supported them?
Lower middle class
Some working class
Lower educated
Lower levels of trust
Less aligned voters
o Radical, Extreme and Populist
Two ways to assess:
Versus system
And ideological dimension
They were radical and not extreme
Where they populist?
Slowly began to use populism
Many were more anti-establishment
The Next Wave: late 1990s to now
A convergence towards a party family
What do they want?
Who supports them?
Why do they come about?
Who are these parties?
They are populist:
o People centered
o Anti elite
o Manichean (agonistic)
o Direct will of the people
Thin centered ideology
o Radical Right ideology
Nationalist/exclusion
Nativist
Authoritarian
Strong law and order
Economic: welfare chauvinist; market economy; anti
globalization (less salient)
Who supports them?
o Younger
o Sometimes very much older
o Less educated, but not un-educated
o Working class and lower middle class
o More men than women
o Those who are not unionized, less religious and often less
embedded in classical institutions
o Attitudes
Oppose immigration; lower levels of trust; crime and
law and order; EU; support some form of more
direct democracy
Also those who score higher on the populism scale
Why the radical right?
