ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the nationalist radical right in Slovakia, above all the Slovak National Party (SNS), which is the main representative of this type of politics. It starts by introducing a more general conceptualization of right-wing radicalism in post-communist Europe and describing the historical and cultural context for the Slovakian radical right. The authors go on to analyze the agenda and appeals of the radical right, its electoral support over the past two decades, as well as the profile of their voters. Moreover, the chapter attempts to trace its impact on the society with the help of the DEREX Index, which identifies demand and potential support for right-wing radicalism. Finally, the study explores the decline of electoral support for the SNS in the 2012 parliamentary elections on the one hand, and the success of more extremist nationalists in the 2013 regional elections on the other. By doing so, the chapter looks at interactions and electoral competition between different actors of the radical right. The chapter concludes that, whereas on the socio-cultural level nationalists are able to capitalize on inherited and persisting patterns of the population’s political culture, one of the main factors boosting their political strength is the readiness and willingness of other political actors to coalesce with them.
