Safronov V. Izbirateli radikal’nyh pravih partij v Evrope: social’naya demografiya, politicheskie attityudy, nacionalizm [Voters of radical right parties in Europe: socio-demographics, political attitudes, nationalism]. Vlast’ i elity [Power and Elites], 2020, 7(2): 22-63. (In Russian)

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Abstract

The article discusses the distinctive characteristics of voters of radical right-wing parties in Western and Eastern Europe. The patterns identified in numerous Western studies are now being questioned and there are fundamental differences between such voters in one part of the continent and another. Empirical verification of these claims was carried out using data from the European Social Survey 2016–2017 (ESS, Round 8) for four Western countries (Austria, the Netherlands, Finland and France) and four Eastern countries (Estonia, Hungary, Poland and Russia). The results allow confirming and clarifying scientific conclusions about the characteristics of the electorate of radical right-wing parties in Western Europe. In this electorate, citizens with low education and socio-professional status, younger and middle-age cohorts are disproportionately represented (the representation of men and women was similar, although there were exceptions to this rule). But the main differences of voters are related to high dissatisfaction with the authorities and political institutions, and hostility to immigrants and refugees. In Eastern Europe, voting for radical nationalist parties was also more likely to be found in younger and middle-aged groups (male predominance was also not a common pattern), but neither education nor professional status played a significant role. The voters are also characterized by discontent with politics (in Poland, satisfaction with it because the party studied won the election) and nationalistic views, but these influences were not as strong as in the Western countries. In all countries (with one exception), adherence to conservative views and values of security, obedience, and respect for tradition were not important distinguishing variables. In Russia, all structural and attitudinal differences, excluding age differentiation, were the least clear. The study shows that support for radical right-wing parties in Western Europe is socially structured and meets their ideological offer with a characteristic nationalist bias and populist rhetoric. Such a supply finds its supporters in the Eastern European countries that are members of the EU, but their views do not correspond to the socio-economic stratification of society.