How well do the policies of the Nordic radical right parties represent the preferences of their voters? This chapter addresses this question by matching the positions of radical right parties and their voters on a number of key issues. Going beyond aggregate dimensions such as left/right or GAL/TAN, the analysis focuses on specific policies related to the ideological core features of the radical right – nativism, authoritarianism, and populism – as well as to the environment and the economy. The results show that the radical right parties in the Nordic region provide voters with a unique policy package: they are more strongly opposed to immigration than are the parties from other party families, and they combine this position with an anti-European Union (EU) stance. However, in their cultural conservatism, their opposition to environmental protection, and their authoritarian stance on gay rights and civil liberties, the Nordic radical right parties are less representative of their voters.

This chapter analyses the government participation of the Nordic radical right parties. Why, for example, were most of the parties excluded from government cooperation for many years following their entry into their respective parliament? Why have some of the parties joined government coalitions as full cabinet members, while others have opted to remain parliamentary support parties? And why did two of the parties choose to leave the government in between elections? Drawing on theories of coalition formation, of party behaviour, and of mainstream-party reactions to the radical right, this chapter traces the transition of the Nordic radical right from opposition to power. The chapter shows that, although size and policy are factors of fundamental importance, we also need to consider party strategy if we are to explain the variation in government participation by radical right parties in the Nordic region.

Is there such a thing as a 'typical' Nordic radical right voter? The scholarly literature has proposed various labels for those who vote for the radical right, such as the 'losers of modernization' or of 'globalization', or simply 'angry white men'. What such characterizations have in common is that they identify a number of features taken to be more or less representative of radical right voters. How accurate are they? This chapter addresses this question by analysing a number of voter characteristics pertaining to the three broad categories of demographics, employment, and politics. The results are presented by country and divided between radical right voters and others, allowing for comparison both within and across countries. The findings show that, while there are some factors that unite radical right voters in the Nordic region, we should not allow these to obscure the fact that there are also important cross-national differences.

This study compares members of political youth organisations and explains variations in material incentives for enrolment using both organisation-level and individual-level factors. Empirically, it is based on a web survey of about 3,000 members of eight Swedish youth organisations. The analysis shows that young people have a complex combination of concerns, with the main dividing line being whether or not material incentives are important. At the organisational level, the prevalence of material incentives among members is positively related to the size of the mother party and whether it has government experience. Further, we find a positive association between material incentives and economic dependence on the part of the youth organisation on its mother party. At the individual level, we find that members who see the main role of the youth organisation as being to provide support for the mother party and for those politically aligned with it are more likely to have material motives for their enrolment.

This article tests the claim that government cooperation between mainstream parties and radical right parties can be explained by coalition theory. It does so by analysing three Swedish cases of coalition formation where the radical right Sweden Democrats (SD) have remained excluded despite holding a pivotal position in the parliament. It argues that, with the right analytical tools, this exclusion can be explained by coalition theory: cooperation with the SD has been unattractive in terms of policy, and unnecessary because the mainstream parties have been able to form viable minority governments. This argument requires three things: first, that we consider the two-dimensional nature of Swedish politics; second, that we shift the focus from majority government to viable government; and third, that we acknowledge strategic time horizons that extend well into the future. The findings contribute to our understanding of coalition formation and of how mainstream parties respond strategically to the radical right.

When faced with organised racism, liberal democracies attempt to strike a balance between combating extremism and protecting core values such as freedom of association. Earlier research has argued that states that have experienced nondemocratic regime control in the twentieth century-either through a domestic takeover or a foreign occupation-are more likely to take a repressive approach to racist associations. In this study, I show that the previously overlooked Nordic region speaks against this explanation. Finland, which managed to avert a domestic authoritarian threat, is more repressive of racist associations than are the Scandinavian countries. The latter, two of which faced Nazi occupation, take a more liberal approach, which targets illegal actions rather than associations. These findings lead me to argue that the explanatory power of historical legacies cannot be reduced to a binary indicator such as nondemocratic regime control. I conclude by proposing a direction for future research on state repression of organised racism.

Why does the radical right care so much about animals? In this study, we argue that the salience of animal advocacy within the radical right can be explained by its compatibility with these parties' broader ideological framework. By analysing official documents from the radical right party the Sweden Democrats, we find that its animal advocacy is shaped by an ideological core consisting of nativism, authoritarianism and populism. The SD argues, for example, that immigrants are more violent towards animals; that animal cruelty must be strongly punished; and that mistreatment of animals is contrary to the moral intuitions of 'the people'. Rather than only being used instrumentally to denigrate the cultural practices of immigrants, however, the policies reflect a broader commitment to animal well-being. Still, they differ from the egalitarian and rights-based agenda of 'animalist' parties, promoting as they do a paternalistic animal-welfare agenda where compassion is owed to animals not because they are our equals, but rather because they are dependent on us. The findings improve our understanding of the radical right ideology and of how ethical principles in the animal-rights debate are integrated into broader ideological frameworks and translated into party policy.

This chapter introduces the economic and political context in Central Eastern Europe (CEE) at the wake of the democratic transition. It compares these circumstances to those in Western Europe and then goes on to trace the political and economic development of CEE since the onset of democratic rule. This economic and political context provides important background information to get a better understanding of coalition politics in the ten CEE countries studied in this volume. The chapter shows that the countries in CEE had quite different starting conditions. They differed substantially on factors such as level of industrialization, unemployment, and economic growth and they opted for different strategies in the transition from central planned to a free market economy. While most of the countries had reached comparatively high levels of market orientation within a few years of democratization, considerable differences remained when the countries joined the European Union. The ten countries also differ with regard to their democratic traditions, and opted for different institutional designs on matters such as the electoral system, the role of the head of state, and the organization of the legislature. High uncertainty associated with initial design choices has resulted in frequent institutional reforms. The communist legacy not only affected the development of party systems, it also affected the political culture in the polities. In conclusion, the countries studied in this book show both initial and persisting variation in terms of economic performance, their institutional framework, the social conditions, and attitudes towards politics among the electorate.

In this study we assess policy representation by populist radical right (PRR) parties in ten West European countries. Going beyond aggregate left-right or socio-cultural (GAL-TAN) dimensions of political conflict, we study representation on policy issues related to the PRR parties' core ideological features nativism, populism, and authoritarianism. Analysing data from party expert and voter surveys, we find that the PRR parties provide largely unique policy positions that are congruent with their voters' preferences in terms of their opposition to immigration and the European Union. By contrast, the parties are less representative in terms of their value conservative and authoritarian positions on gay rights and civil liberties. The findings have relevance for our understanding of party strategy, voter behaviour, and the dimensionality of political competition.

As populist radical right parties have become electorally successful throughout Europe, mainstream parties have been adopting more restrictive immigration policies in order to win back voters, in w ...

Within political science, there are numerous methodological approaches to estimating the policy positions of political actors. Such methods are often used to examine party systems as a whole, but l ...

In the Swedish general elections of 2010, the party the Sweden Democrats for the first time entered the parliament. In an election otherwise characterised by competition between two explicit politi ...