The Radical Right in Western Europe: A Meta-Analysis of Structural Factors

Abstract

In this meta-analysis, we summarize the results of 48 peer-reviewed articles on the radical rightwing vote in Western Europe. These results come from 48 peer-reviewed articles published from January 1990 until October 2017. We use the following inclusion criteria, the selected articles must focus on Western Europe, they must have the vote share of one or several radical right-wing parties as the dependent variable, and at least one structural variable as the independent variable. We find that more than 20 different structural variables have been tested. Most of them, like unemployment, reflect mitigate results in explaining the electoral support for radical right-wing parties. For others, like immigration, the statistical significance and direction of the relationship seem to be highly dependent on the type of proxies used. In fact, only a few variables, such as crime rates and the district magnitude seem to have a consistent effect on the vote share for radical right-wing parties.

The far-right and asylum outcomes: Assessing the impact of far-right politics on asylum decisions in Europe

“…First, despite accounting for overall application rates and previous recognition rates, endogeneity cannot be completely eliminated from the models. While there is some debate as to the relationship between asylum-seekers and FRP support (see Amengay and Stockemer, 2019; Spies, 2013; Van der Brug, 2005), it is possible that high numbers of asylum applications in previous years stoke anti-asylum sentiments that lead to the electoral success of FRPs as well as reduced asylum-recognition rates. While the lagged asylum applications per capita should capture some of this effect, it may not capture a cumulative effect.…”

A Radical Right-Wing Failure in Canada

“…The literature is decidedly mixed. Several studies support the ethnic competition thesis (Arzheimer, 2009;Arzheimer, 2018;Davis & Deole, 2017;Dinas et al, 2019;Georgiadou et al, 2018;Kestila & Soderlund, 2007;Knigge, 1998;Lubbers et al, 2002;Lubbers & Scheepers, 2000;Rooduijn, 2015;Rydgren, 2007) while several others support the contact theory (Ambrose & Mudde, 2015;Amengay & Stockemer, 2019;Givens, 2005;Goerres et al, 2018;Kitschelt & McGann, 1995;Stockemer, 2017).…”

The Electoral Success of the Extreme Right: Is the Presence of a Minority Important?

“…However, conclusions about economic factors influencing far-right support are not always confirmed [Bloom 2013;Amengay and Stockemer 2018]. Ivarsflaten [2005] notes that the far right may be divided with regard to economic interests, and Oesch [2008] shows that economic motives do not act as a significant factor in the decision to vote for the far right.…”