Right-wing populism

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Right-wing populism (also radical right-wing populism, RRP) is a political ideology and rhetorical style found around the world. The strategy of right-wing populism relies on a combination of ethno-nationalism with anti-elitist (populist) rhetoric and a radical critique of existing political institutions.^[1][2][3][4]

In the United States, radical right wing populism traces back to roots in the Jacksonian period and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in the mid-19th century following the Civil War. In the U.S. it has often incorporated an agrarian impulse.^[5][6][7]

Radical right wing populism also played a role in mobilizing middle class support for the Nazi Party in Weimar Germany.^[8]. In this case, distressed middle–class populists during the pre-Nazi Weimar period mobilized their anger at government and big business. The Nazis "parasitized the forms and themes of the populists and moved their constituencies far to the right through ideological appeals involving demagoguery, scapegoating, and conspiracism".^[9] According to Fritzsche:

The Nazis expressed the populist yearnings of middle–class constituents and at the same time advocated a strong and resolutely anti-Marxist mobilization....Against “unnaturally” divisive parties and querulous organized interest groups, National Socialists cast themselves as representatives of the commonwealth, of an allegedly betrayed and neglected German public....[b]reaking social barriers of status and caste, and celebrating at least rhetorically the populist ideal of the people’s community... ^[10]

Some scholars see populist movements potentially serving as a precursor creating the building blocks of fascist movements.^[11][12][13] For example, conspiracist scapegoating employed by various populist movements can create “a seedbed for fascism,” in the United States, argues Mary Rupert^[14] Scholar Mark Rupert sees echoes of this in some far-right isolationist movements that view globalization as a threat to American interests.^[15]

Right-wing populist parties and movements differ from many far-right parties in that they accept representative democracy and disavow violent political tactics. They are considered radical because they oppose the current welfare system and the present political system; right-wing because they oppose aspects of socialism and have traditional policies on immigration; and populist because they appeal to the fears and frustrations of common citizens.^[16]

These parties and movements sometimes distinguish themselves from the traditional Right by their support for social welfare programmes, gender equality, freedom of expression, gay rights, and separation of church and state. These parties often present themselves as the defenders of traditional liberal ideas.^[17] Other RRP parties wish to preserve the dominance of the Christian values as a means of preserving the national culture.

[edit] Contemporary Europe

Right-wing populism is a core element of several New Right" political parties and movements in contemporary Europe.^[18]

Political parties embodying this ideology have appeared in various European countries since the 1970s, and gained prominence from the 1980s. Popular support has generally declined during the 2000s, with the exception of Switzerland, where support of the right-wing populist Swiss People's Party reached an all-time high in the 2007 elections.

Pioneered by James Schwarzenbach in Switzerland from the early 1970s, radical right-wing populism rose to notability with the successes of the French National Front and the British National Party from the early 1980s. In France, the Front National rose to notability in 1983, as it scored more than 15% in regional elections. It gained 35 seats in the 1986 legislative election. Its support peaked in 1997 at over 14%, and by 2007 declined to 4%. The German Republicans had seats in the European parliament in 1983. In the 2000s, the Republicans' support eroded in favour of the far right National Democratic Party of Germany, which in 2005 held 1.6% of the popular vote (regionally winning up to 9%). In Switzerland, radical right populist parties held close to 10% of the popular vote in 1971, were reduced to below 2% by 1979, and again grew to more than 10% in 1991. Since 1991, these parties (the Swiss Democrats and the Swiss Freedom Party) have been absorbed by the Swiss People's Party, whose aggressively right-wing, populist campaign catapulted it to 29% of the popular vote in 2007.

The Austrian Freedom Party formed a coalition government in 1999 though by 2006 it's number of seats had been halved. The Dutch party List Pim Fortuyn won 26 out of a possible 150 in 2002 and formed a coalition government however by 2003 resignations and splits in the party had caused a severe loss of public support, this together with an unpopular election campaign caused them to lose all 26 seats in the 2006 elections. In Scandinavia, the Danish People's Party have had small successes, winning 24 seats (11%)in 2005, while its Norwegian and Swedish analogues were less successful. On a European level, radical right populists have founded the Euronat association in 2005.

The author Hans-Georg Betz describes the RRP parties anti-immigration policies as 'a thinly veiled racism' and states that they opportunistically exploit the xenophobic response created by a new age of globalisation and a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural world. Other researchers have found that right-wing populist parties draw voters who are concerned about the cultural impact of immigration, poor economic conditions, and perceived unresponsiveness of mainstream political parties.^[19]

[edit] See also

• New Right
• Populism

[edit] References