Populist Radical Right Parties in Europe

As Europe enters a significant phase of re-integration of East and West, it faces an increasing problem with the rise of far-right political parties. Cas Mudde offers the first comprehensive and truly pan-European study of populist radical right parties in Europe. He focuses on the parties themselves, discussing them both as dependent and independent variables. Based upon a wealth of primary and secondary literature, this book offers critical and original insights into three major aspects of European populist radical right parties: concepts and classifications; themes and issues; and explanations for electoral failures and successes. It concludes with a discussion of the impact of radical right parties on European democracies, and vice versa, and offers suggestions for future research.

Table of Contents:
Introduction; Part I. Concepts: 1. Constructing a conceptual framework; 2. From conceptualization to classification: which parties?; Part II. Issues: 3. Who's afraid of … ?; 4. Männerparteien; 5. It's not the economy, stupid!; 6. Populist radical right democracy; 7. 'Europe for the Europeans'; 8. Globalization: the multi-faced enemy; Part III. Explanations: 9. Demand: in search of the perfect breeding ground; 10. External supply-side: political opportunity structures; 11. Internal supply-side: the populist radical right party; 12. Assessing impact: populist radical right parties vs. European democracies; 13. Conclusions.

About the Author :
Cas Mudde is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Science at the University of Antwerp. He is the author of The Ideology of the Extreme Right (2000) and the editor of Racist Extremism in Central and Eastern Europe (2005).

Review :
'The most comprehensive, exhaustive and analytically penetrating study of the populist right in Europe, both West and East. By extending the analysis into Eastern Europe, Cas Mudde makes a convincing case that contemporary right-wing populism is above all a revival of nativism. With this study, Mudde establishes himself as the leading expert on the subject.' Hans-Georg Betz, author of Radical Right-Wing Populism in Western Europe (1994) 'A major achievement - the most comprehensive and insightful analysis of right-wing populism in Europe that has been published to date. This is comparative political analysis as it should be.' Peter Mair, European University Institute 'Cas Mudde has done a brilliant job in integrating the now vast literature on the populist radical right in Europe. By focusing on a broad comparative analysis, he has critically assessed many of the claims about the support, programs and success of these parties. In the process, he has provided an important and comprehensive framework for understanding them. This is an excellent book, important for both scholars and students alike.' Martin Schain, Professor of Politics, New York University 'Mudde's book gives testimony to the richness and depth of the literature on populist right-wing parties published over the past fifteen years, as well as to the many open questions that call for further research, given their scholarly importance and their political salience. There could be no better commentary and guide to the literature than Mudde's book. At the same time, Mudde advances the research frontier in creative ways and adds important insights critical for our understanding of the dynamic success (and failure) of populist right-wing parties in European politics.' Herbert Kitschelt, Duke University 'In this groundbreaking book, Mudde provides the first comprehensive analytical treatment of populist radical right parties in Europe, both west and east. ... Overall, a very thorough, careful, insightful, and impressive work. ... Highly recommended.' Choice