Patterns, Process, Policies: Conceptualising Radical Right Impact

The paper strives at discussing the concept of impact by the radical right by addressing the relevant literature, providing a descriptive overview of the radical right and its patterns of interaction and presenting preliminary findings of policy effects at a large n, all-European level. In particular, the paper contextualizes the radical right in the respective political system according to structural and cultural context factors (such as the characteristics of the party competition, cleavages, political culture and patterns of identity politics and majority-minority relations. It then proceeds with proposing an analytical process model which can be used to study effects of the radical right through the analysis of its interaction with other political actors, most notably parties and governments. Preliminary evidence for Europe suggests a distinct East-West difference.