Mapping Extreme Right Ideology: An Empirical Geography of the European Extreme Right

An explanation of variations in the discourses and electoral success of 25 extreme right parties across 17 European political systems. The book shows how the European extreme right is mapped by the positions of parties and voters on two ideological dimensions, and how the match between these determines electoral success.

Table of Contents:
Introduction and Research Question Theoretical Framework and Conceptual Map Case Selection and Methodology The Conceptual Map and Extreme Right Elites Capturing the Ideological Identities of Extreme Right Parties Exploring the Extreme Right Universe: Patterns of Internal Party Competition How Stable is the Discourse of Extreme Right Parties over Time? An Analysis of the Press Releases of Five European Extreme Right Parties Match or Mismatch? Investigating the Match between Extreme Right Parties' Ideological Positions and the Ideological Preferences of Voters Summary of Findings, Conclusions and Discussion Bibliography Appendices

About the Author :
SARAH HARRISON is Research Officer in Electoral Psychology at the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK. She has published multiple books including The Future of our Democracies? 2009, and articles in the fields of extremist politics, political participation, electoral psychology, party politics and political protest. MICHAEL BRUTER is Reader in Political Science at the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK, and Visiting Professor at Columbia University, USA. He has published multiple books including the Encyclopaedia of European Elections, 2007 and articles in the fields of electoral psychology, elections, public opinion and research methods. He directs 'Inside the Mind of a Voter', a major ERC project.   

Review :
'The extreme right has played a significant role in European politics in the past. The most recent developments demonstrate that extreme rightist tendencies will have an impact on Europe in the foreseeable future also. Michael Bruter and Sarah Harrison's brilliant analysis of the extreme right's way of thinking is published exactly at the right moment.' - Anton Pelinka, Professor of Nationalism Studies and Political Science, Central European University, Budapest 'This is a brilliant, comprehensive and lucid study of the European extreme right. The authors succeed in synthesizing the vast relevant literature in exciting ways which open new venues for academic research. Moreover, they perform an interdisciplinary and comparative, quantitative and qualitative discourse and text analysis which illustrates the intricate complexity of extreme right-wing national and transnational politics across a range of genres (e.g., policy papers, party programmes) in many to date uninvestigated - details. I am convinced that this book will become a benchmark for future theoretical and empirical research on the European radical right. - Ruth Wodak, Distinguished Professor and Chair in Discourse Studies, Department of Linguistics and English Language, Lancaster University, UK