ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the internal dynamics of the radical right movement in Ukraine. In the 2012 parliamentary elections, Freedom party became the first radical right party in Ukraine to attain parliamentary representation. This chapter examines the micro-process of political mobilization that launched Freedom’s electoral rise. Specifically, it focuses on the individuals who make up the radical right to compare how Freedom and various nationalist subculture groups negotiated their level of interaction in two Ukrainian regions, Galicia and Volyn. Two distinct patterns of party–subculture interactions emerge: cooperation in Galicia versus rejection and fractionalization in Volyn. The extent to which cooperation occurred in Galicia but not in Volyn depends on: (1) the size and strength of the subcultural networks in the region; (2) the strength of social networks between the party and subcultures; and (3) the appeal of historical legacies of radical nationalism. The internal dynamics and patterns of party and subculture interaction have broader implications for transformation processes on the borderlands of the European Union.
