Legitimacy, Populism, and Anti-immigration Parties

Abstract

There is extensive agreement in the literature on populist radical right parties that legitimacy is a crucial supply-side factor in explanations of these parties’ electoral success. However, much less is known about why some anti-immigrant parties are perceived as legitimate, while others are not. The literature suggests that some sort of break with the old extreme-right appears important, that mainstream or even legal reactions and sanctions may matter, that size of support or organization perhaps play a part, and that party reputations are important. The relationship between populism, extremism, and legitimacy is complicated and remains not well understood. The Panel raises the important discussion of the role of legitimacy among anti-immigrant parties, and the emphasis will be on novel empirical contributions that may inform the debate.