Inside the Radical Right
The Development of Anti-Immigrant Parties in Western Europe

This book analyzes the dynamics of party building and explores the attitudes, skills and experiences of radical right activists in eleven countries.

David Art (Author)

9780521720328, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 21 February 2011

290 pages, 5 b/w illus. 19 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 2 cm, 0.4 kg

'In this book, David Art takes on the challenge of explaining the development of radical right parties in eleven countries in Western Europe … this is a well-written book that goes far in examining an important aspect of political party development through a set of parties that once were thought to be only a 'flash in the pan' but have persisted in a way that has often defied the expectations of political analysts across Europe. This book adds another piece to the puzzle of understanding what is clearly a complicated set of processes, existing both in the national context and in response to global challenges that influence voters in their search for a party that will address their interests.' Terri E. Givens, Culture and Society

What explains the cross-national variation in the radical right's electoral success over the last several decades? Challenging existing structural and institutional accounts, this book analyzes the dynamics of party building and explores the attitudes, skills and experiences of radical right activists in eleven different countries. Based on extensive field research and an original data set of radical right candidates for office, David Art links the quality of radical right activists to broader patterns of success and failure. He demonstrates how a combination of historical legacies and incentive structures produced activists who helped party building in some cases and doomed it in others. In an age of rising electoral volatility and the fading of traditional political cleavages, Inside the Radical Right makes a strong case for the importance of party leaders and activists as masters of their own fate.

1. Introduction
2. Activists and party development
3. Parties of poor souls
4. Nationalist subcultures
5. Party transformation and flash parties
6. Reforming the old right?
7. Conclusion
Appendix A. Percentage of the vote for radical right parties in national parliamentary elections
Appendix B. Coding procedure for radical right party lists
Appendix C. ISCO codes for radical right candidates for office.

Subject Areas: Political activism [JPW], Political parties [JPL], Comparative politics [JPB], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], European history [HBJD]