The road from group relative deprivation to radical right support – a social dominance approach

For ethnic majorities, feelings of relative deprivation compared to ethnic minorities leads to the support of radical right (RR) parties. However, why does relative deprivation lead to RR support? Evidence using the 15th wave of the British Election Study suggests that feelings of group relative deprivation (GRD) for White Britons cause an increase in social dominance orientation (SDO). SDO, in turn, causes anti-immigrant prejudice, which is the cause of radical right support. These results strongly contribute to literature on political behaviour. They indicate that White Britons who feel that their group is doing relatively worse off than ethnic minorities become substantially more predisposed to maintaining hierarchies with White Britons at the top and others at the bottom. This leads them to become more anti-immigrant and, following from that, more supportive of the radical right.