Varieties of Radicalism: The Ideological and Social Make-Up of Radical Left Voters in Western Europe

Radical left parties (RLP) in Western Europe are generally electorally small organizations. RLP voters are usually regarded as ideologically extreme, caring primarily about the traditional left-right cleavage. This ideological profile of the RLP electorate tends to coincide with the image of an ageing and predominantly male voting base. However, this description of the RLP electorate simplifies the complexities of both the RLP family and of its voters, assuming homogeneity instead of acknowledging the varieties of ideological and policy mixes that RLPs compete around and that attract voters to support them. RLP family, ranges from orthodox communist parties to a wide range of left-libertarian ones. In this paper we dissect the electorate of RLPs across different sub-types. We distinguish among different types of RLPs and using cross-national survey data we examine the ideological, policy and social differences in the electorates of the varieties of RLPs.