Manchester University Press
Introduction
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Abstract
The Introduction commences with the dual observation that, despite the successful integration of the post-communist democracies into the European Union, the quality of democracy has suffered setbacks in some countries of Eastern Europe and that by today the agenda of the radical right has clearly reached the mainstream in the region. After the observations are outlined, the key questions to be addressed in the book are presented. Arguing that the strengthening and mainstreaming of the radical right, primarily in its manifestation as political parties, may have detrimental effects on the overall quality of democracy, the book seeks to explore if there is a direct relationship between radical right parties’ electoral strength and their impact, or if other, mostly mainstream, parties’ strategies, such as maintaining or abandoning a cordon sanitaire between them and the radical right, play a more crucial role in how the radical right can affect its political environment. The chapter introduces the three layers of potential impact to be later examined in the book: parties’ positions, policies, and the polity as such. It identifies the thematic focus as parties’ positions and policies toward the rights and status of ethnic and national minorities as well as refugees and asylum-seekers, which tend to be core issues contested by the radical right, and which are also of key concern for the book’s understanding of liberal democracy as benchmarks for inclusiveness.
Abstract
The Introduction commences with the dual observation that, despite the successful integration of the post-communist democracies into the European Union, the quality of democracy has suffered setbacks in some countries of Eastern Europe and that by today the agenda of the radical right has clearly reached the mainstream in the region. After the observations are outlined, the key questions to be addressed in the book are presented. Arguing that the strengthening and mainstreaming of the radical right, primarily in its manifestation as political parties, may have detrimental effects on the overall quality of democracy, the book seeks to explore if there is a direct relationship between radical right parties’ electoral strength and their impact, or if other, mostly mainstream, parties’ strategies, such as maintaining or abandoning a cordon sanitaire between them and the radical right, play a more crucial role in how the radical right can affect its political environment. The chapter introduces the three layers of potential impact to be later examined in the book: parties’ positions, policies, and the polity as such. It identifies the thematic focus as parties’ positions and policies toward the rights and status of ethnic and national minorities as well as refugees and asylum-seekers, which tend to be core issues contested by the radical right, and which are also of key concern for the book’s understanding of liberal democracy as benchmarks for inclusiveness.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures vi
- List of tables viii
- Acknowledgments x
- List of abbreviations xii
- Introduction 1
- 1 Conceptualizing the radical right and its impact 11
- 2 Cases and contexts 46
- 3 Position shifts 81
- 4 Policy shifts 126
- 5 Polity shifts 170
- Conclusion 202
- Appendix 212
- References 228
- Index 264
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures vi
- List of tables viii
- Acknowledgments x
- List of abbreviations xii
- Introduction 1
- 1 Conceptualizing the radical right and its impact 11
- 2 Cases and contexts 46
- 3 Position shifts 81
- 4 Policy shifts 126
- 5 Polity shifts 170
- Conclusion 202
- Appendix 212
- References 228
- Index 264
