ABSTRACT

Introduction One of the most controversial developments in European politics in recent years has been the electoral rise of Radical Right Parties (RRPs). This phenomenon has been prevalent across European Union (EU) member states, as from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean and from the Benelux countries to the post-communist nations, the Radical Right has made advances in national, local and European electoral settings (Startin 2014). Parties such as the French National Front (FN), the Danish People’s Party (DFP), the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ), the Party for Freedom in the Netherlands, the Vlaams Belang in Belgium, Golden Dawn in Greece and Jobbik in Hungary have all become significant contenders within their respective countries in terms of both votes cast and impact within their party systems. Academic literature on this subject has been in abundance in the last decade (Norris 2005; Ignazi 2006; Mudde 2007; Hainsworth 2008). Most explanations for the rise of the Radical Right have traditionally focused on a combination of ‘supply-side’ and ‘demand-side’ variables, with an inevitable link to the historic legacy of fascism and Nazism featuring as an explanation for some scholars.