An emerging populist welfare paradigm? How populist radical right‐wing parties are reshaping the welfare state

Abstract

Populist radical right-wing parties (PRRPs) in Western Europe have almost without exception shifted their position on distributive issues, abandoning their earlier support for a minimal welfare state in favor of higher social spending. Recent studies suggest that PRRPs' distributive preferences go beyond the clash between simply expanding or retrenching welfare; instead, they defend a specific welfare state that focuses on consumption policies for the "deserving." Drawing on this literature and the welfare paradigm literature, this paper suggests that PRRPs are not only welfare chauvinist but that they promote what we call a "dualistic" welfare state: protectionism for the "deserving" and neoliberal for the "undeserving." To unpack PRRPs' welfare attitude and verify their influence on welfare reforms, this study focuses on two cases in which a PRRP cooperated with governing parties: Denmark ( ) and Austria (2017. The study confirms that PRRPs pursued a coherent but dual approach to welfare state distribution. Policy negotiations show that PRRPs successfully pursue austerity and workfare measures for social policies targeting the "undeserving," while preserving and expanding consumption policies for the "deserving." This paper thus contributes to the research on PRRPs' welfare attitudes and, more broadly, the recent welfare transformations in Western Europe.

Politicizing the minimum wage: A multilingual text analysis of minimum wages in European electoral manifestos

“…While initial analyses have found that the economic policies of RWPPs are anchored in right-wing economic discourse, recent assessments have found evidence that RWPPs frequently adopt economic policies which are characterized as being left-wing, such as more generous welfare transfers or higher taxes for wealthier citizens (Afonso and Rennwald, 2018). Ennser-Jedenastik (2018) and Chueri (2022) have instead argued that a more useful interpretative lens through which to understand the economic agenda of RWPPs is that of economic nativism, welfare chauvinism and deservingness.…”

Assessing Regional Variation in Support for the Radical Right-Wing Party ‘Alternative for Germany’ (AfD)—A Novel Application of Institutional Anomie Theory across German Districts

“…On the other hand, scholars argue that, despite their protective rhetoric, radical right politics are part of the self-regulating market movement, which supports disciplinary attitudes towards welfare, particularly targeting groups deemed as 'undeserving' (Chueri 2022), while, at the same time, prioritizing capital accumulation over protecting human well-being (Atzmüller and Décieux 2020;Lim 2021, p. 528;Scheiring and Szombati 2020). 2 While authors disagree on the importance of the role of economics in the agenda of populist parties, there is now a common understanding that contemporary populist radical right-wing parties have shifted their market-liberal stance.…”

“…2 While authors disagree on the importance of the role of economics in the agenda of populist parties, there is now a common understanding that contemporary populist radical right-wing parties have shifted their market-liberal stance. Instead of advocating for a minimal state, these parties now tend to support a strong but exclusionary welfare state (Chueri 2022) and embrace economic nationalism (Clift and Woll 2013), departing from global market liberalism (Betz 2003, p. 76;Mudde 2007). However, empirical evidence from countries such as Hungary (Scheiring and Szombati 2020), Austria (Ausserladscheider 2022), Turkey (Güven 2016), Britain (Hopkin 2017), and the US (Pierson 2017) suggests that when right-wing parties come to power, they tend to implement policies that benefit the wealthy and powerful rather than implementing policies that promote social and economic equality (Lim 2021).…”

An illiberal welfare state emerging? Welfare efforts and trajectories under democratic backsliding in Hungary and Turkey

“…Fidesz, in contrast, pursued exclusionary policies and sharpened the divide between 'insiders' in stable employment and lower-class 'outsiders'. Fidesz thus broadly followed the 'populist welfare paradigm' (Chueri, 2022) espoused by populist right-wing parties in Western Europe, with the refinment that its harsh policies related to the unemployed rather resemble 'exclusionary neoliberal populism' (Scheiring, 2021). In Turkey, government and opposition alike discursively endorsed the concept of the welfare state while Fidesz built up an alternative: the 'work-based society'.…”