Movement Parties and Party Movements: Enquiry into the Far Right

The far right is one of the most successful objects of enquiry in the social sciences. Especially early contributions focusing on Western Europe have interpreted the contemporary far right as a phenomenon emerged in reaction to the ‘silent revolution’ of environmentalist and left-libertarian organisations. Almost without exception, the Greens and the far right have been seen to straddle the conceptual space between ‘party’ and ‘movement’, in that they contest elections in order to gain representation in office, yet seek to mobilise public support by providing particular frames to contentious issues. In the case of the far right, this notion has been replicated without serious academic enquiry. Whilst largely still under-specified theoretically, hybrid organisations such as ‘movement parties’ of the far right are also under-researched in their organisation, processes, and repertoires of action. This paper seeks to redress these inconsistencies by focusing on two movement parties of the far right that have experienced similar developmental stages, though different electoral fortunes – CasaPound Italia and Jobbik Magyarországért Mozgalom. The analysis, resorting to original interviews with party representatives, notably enhances theoretical and substantive knowledge on the European far right.