Preferences for Redistribution, Welfare Chauvinism, and Radical Right Party Support in Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract

Why do supporters of radical right parties in Central and Eastern Europe hold economically left-wing policy preferences? In this article, the author argues that this can be explained by welfare chauvinism. First, in ethnically heterogeneous societies, minority groups provide a plausible scapegoat for the grievances emphasized by radical right parties. Therefore, the majority population is sensitive to shifts in the status quo which accrue from policy changes that give minorities greater benefits. Support for redistribution will therefore be lower in more ethnically diverse countries. The salience of shifts in the ethnic group hierarchy also means that objective economic insecurity is less likely to intersect with redistributive preferences. Second, radical right supporters will prefer welfare policies that restrict eligibility to the majority population. This allows radical right parties to combine leftist economic policies with more authoritarian values. The empirical results confirm these expectations. This research contributes to our understanding of the attitudinal bases of radical right party support in Central and Eastern Europe.

Unequal perspectives? Income inequality as a benchmark for support for European integration

“…With ongoing political realignments, the strong association between left-wing self-identification and support for redistribution has become less pronounced (De Vries et al, 2013; Elchardus and Spruyt, 2012). In many countries, a sizable group of citizens who identify as right-wing and/or vote for (radical) right parties are somewhat or very supportive of income redistribution, even if only for the ‘native’ majority (Savage, 2023).…”

Right-Wing Leftists, Left-Wing Rightists, and Traditionalist Liberals: Core Political Values and Ideological Inconsistency at the Party-Elite Level in Bulgaria

“…Recent research on ideology in the region has highlighted many of its specificities: ideologically-motivated attitudes to democratic backsliding (Bellamy et al 2022); welfare chauvinism focused on restricting the welfare rights of internal minorities, unlike that in Western Europe, where it is aimed at immigrants (Savage 2022); cultural liberal and conservative mobilizing potential and political participation in post-Socialist countries (Pospieszna and Vráblíková 2022); the use by Poland's governing party of right-wing cultural narratives for reinforcement of political narratives (Bill 2022). Other researchers have attempted a values-based explanation of ideological inconsistencies in CEE states from a motivational perspective and have directly challenged the validity of a single left-right dimension for the region (Wójcik et al 2021).…”