ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a theoretical and scholarly literature in the thematic areas of Nationalism, Populism, and Political Culture. The main bulk of the academic literature on populist and radical right-wing parties remains focused on Western Europe. The minuscule forces of the radical left do not seem able to project a convincing alternative to the systematic appropriation of ‘older’ and ‘newer’ identity politics by the populist and radical right throughout the region. Despite the multifaceted landscape of post-Communist Central and Eastern Europe going through transition, one common denominator was the transformation of the former Communist parties and their umbrella organisations into consolidated and single-party actors with a centre-left/Social Democrat profile. Within the context of political transformation across Central and Eastern Europe, the political spectrum to the left of Social Democrat parties either atrophied or became irrelevant. In the academic literature, there is no universally agreed definition of what, precisely, constitutes populist and radical right-wing parties.
