Three phases of the Extreme Right von Beyme, 1988:

1
Three phases of the Extreme Right (von Beyme,
1988)

• 1945 1955
• surviving/revived fascism
• 1955 1980
• populist protest
• 1980
• increased support anti-immigration

2
Phase 1, 1945-1955

• Surviving/revived inter-war fascism
• Small, extremist parties
• Discredited. Electorally weak
• Mostly supported by oddballs and WW II losers
• Italy (MSI)
• Germany (DRP)
• Britain (Mosleys Union Movement)
• Sweden (Neo-Swedes, Nordic Realm Party)

3
Phase 2, 1955-1980

• Populist protest
• Supported by losers in post-war economic
  modernisation
• Anti-tax, anti-bureaucracy, elements of anti-big
  (but pro-small) business
• France (UDCA Poujadistes)
• Finland (Vennamos Rural Party)
• Denmark (Glistrups Progress Party)
• Norway (Anders Langes Party For Strongly
  Reduced Taxes, Fees And Public Intervention)

4
Phase 3, 1980 (2000?)

• Emphasis on immigration
• Economically right-leaning
• Increased electoral support
• Still not legitimate among other parties
• France (Le Pen, Front National)
• Austria (Haider, FPÖ)
• Belgium (Vlaams Blok/Belang)

5
Phase 4, 2000 (?)

• Economically left-leaning (welfare chauvinism)
  protectionist
• Increased legitimacy
• Increased political influence indirect
• and direct
• Government participation (Austria 2000-2006,
  Italy 1994, 2001-2006, Netherlands 2002-03,
  Switzerland?)
• Providing parliamentary support for governments,
  with ability to influence policy (Denmark 2001-,
  to a lesser extent Norway 2001-2005)

6
Still not legitimate everywhere

• Belgian Vlaams Blok outlawed in November 2004
  only to re-emerge under new name Vlaams Belang
• Belgian Cordon Sanitaire remains but for how
  long?
• Front National in France still not accepted into
  National Assembly election cartels by
  centre-right parties
• Attempt to outlaw German NPD failed

7
Indeed, no universal breakthrough for extreme
right

• Electoral system prevents breakthrough in Britain
  but some successes at local level
• Swedish New Democracy was a brief interlude but
  Sweden Democrats got 2.9 in 2006, and is
  represented on many local and some regional
  councils
• Dutch Lijst Pim Fortuyn also short-lived
• German extreme right weakened in the west but
  stronger in the east
• True Finns party for many years very small
  but grew in 2007 election

8
Nonetheless, extreme right increasingly
legitimate in many party systems

• Possible reason Established centre-right parties
  require an extra resource in competition with the
  leftist blocs which are strengthened by green
  parties

• Consequences
• Extreme right parties de-radicalised
• Centre-right blocs radicalised

Overall consequence (Bale 2003) increased
polarisation of party systems
9
Suggested reasons (theses) for extreme right
success (Eatwell 2003)

• Demand-side
• Single issue (immigration)
• Social breakdown
• Protest
• Reverse post-materialism
• Economic self-interest

• Supply-side
• Opportunity structures
• Medialisation
• National traditions
• Party programmes
• Charismatic leadership

10
Immigration and the extreme right

• Extreme right voters are anti-immigration but
  single issue thesis is not supported
• Number of immigrants in an area not as such
  correlated to extreme right voting
• However, influx of immigrants could pave the way
  for extreme right success
• Immigration not on its own sufficient to trigger
  extreme right success but in connection with
  other perceived problem?
• Racism plus X?

11
Racism (immigration) plus X

• What is X?
• Local, pavement, issues?
• Immigrant crime?
• Immigrants integration into labour market?

12
The potential political impact of the extreme
right

• Will take nationalist stands on matters where
  there is a perceived threat to the own people
• Will exploit and whip up popular discontent
• Will use its extreme rhetoric to discredit
  institutions, governments and other parties
• Will polarise the political debate, possibly
  drowning balanced criticism and demands for
  renewal

13
More specifically, the extreme right

• Can use its increased legitimacy and influence to
  blackmail governments
• Can constrain governments freedom of manoeuvre
• Can enforce, and play key part in, more
  referendums
• Can indirectly force other parties to change
  their policies, in order to accommodate some of
  the extreme rights potential support
• Can have impact on policy areas, such as
  immigration, integration, EU related matters

14
The extreme right and European integration

• Some neo-fascist (phase 1) groups and parties
  viewed Europe as potential third force between
  communism and capitalism
• More recently, extreme right has become
  increasingly EU sceptical
• Extreme right has often performed well in EU
  (second order) elections
• Extreme right has often benefited from EU related
  referendums (on the side of the people against
  the establishment)

15
Herbert Kitschelt and Anthony J McGann (1995, p.
ix f)

• Politically, we find the preoccupation with the
  extreme Right in Western Europe thoroughly
  distastefulParticularly for opponents and
  enemies of the contemporary extreme Right, it is
  important to have an accurate assessment of what
  this new political force represents in order to
  more effectively fight it.