History of the populist radical right in the Benelux

This chapter traces the history of the far right in the Benelux countries. Conceptually, this chapter applies the traditional demand- and supply-side framework to explain variations in the electoral trajectories of right-wing populist parties, thereby demonstrating the strengths and limitations of this model. The aim of this chapter is to show that although conventional explanatory models provide a useful starting point to account for the variation in success, they fail to paint the full picture. Hence, the main argument put forward in this chapter is that in order to fully understand the asymmetrical electoral trajectories of the populist radical right in the Benelux, it is necessary to take into account contextual factors, notably mainstream parties and the media. As demonstrated in the following chapters, these two factors shape the opportunity structures available to right-wing populist parties.