ABSTRACT
Radical politics and the use of inflammatory political appeals are enduring features of post-communist politics, yet the causes, effects and dynamics of radical party politics in post-communist democracies are still poorly understood, especially when compared to the copious scholarship on the Western European extreme right, Latin American populism, and racial politics in the US. 1 Notable exceptions do exist, but many of the most fundamental research questions remain unanswered, including why radical parties are strong and persistent in some countries, but weak and short-lived in others. 2
