The Ideology, Impact, and Electoral Performance of Populist Radical Right Parties in Central and Eastern Europe

Often neglected in the study of far right organisations, post-communist Europe recently witnessed the rise and fall of a number of populist radical right parties. Whilst parties in Central and Eastern Europe share broad ideological features with their West European counterparts, they also come across as a phenomenon sui generis. Parties like Ataka (Bulgaria), Jobbik (Hungary), and the SNS (Slovakia) resort to historical legacies and contextual idiosyncrasies to frame their ideology; interact with other parties over different policy areas; and ultimately compete for public office on the basis of their nativist agenda. Although these organisations do not necessarily constitute a more militant and anti-democratic version of this party family, they have certainly contributed to politicise and mainstream illiberal policy ideas. Moreover, they have conditioned a ‘radicalisation of the mainstream’ – a form of influence that, although complex, does seem to withstand the specific electoral performances of these parties.