Voting Radical Right in Western Europe (Hardcover)

by Terri E. Givens (Author) "The dramatic entry of Jean-Marie Le Pen into the second round of the French presidential election of 2002 was a high point in the history..." (more)
Key Phrases: radical right vote, vote for the radical right, radical right parties, National Front, Western Europe, Progress Party (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
“The recent successes of far-Right parties in Europe are fueling controversy over the cause of this development. Givens examines the voting records of radical Right parties in four European countries and attempts to explain why, in democratic countries facing similar economic conditions, some have been more successful than others. The author uses survey data, case studies, and regression analysis to examine casual relationships, and a model to explain differences in voting.”
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Product Description
Radical right parties have only been successful in a few countries. Why do such a small percentage of voters choose the radical right in Germany? Why is the radical right winning more seats in Austria than in France and Germany? Terri Givens argues that radical right parties will have difficulty attracting voters and winning seats in electoral systems that encourage strategic voting and/or strategic coordination by the mainstream parties. Her analysis demonstrates that electoral systems and party strategy play a key role in the success of the radical right.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 188 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (October 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521851343
• ISBN-13: 978-0521851343
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,325,891 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Politics matters, June 6, 2006

By	Arthur Digbee (Indianapolis, IN, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This book begins with an interesting puzzle. A pretty constant 15% of the public support radical right parties is in Austria, France and Germany, but electoral outcomes vary considerably, from about 5% to over 25% in one election. Gives examines these three countries at length, and then tacks on a discussion of Denmark in Chapter 7.

Her central argument is that the Radical Right has more problems attracting voters and winning seats in countries whose political systems encourage voters to vote strategically. For example, the two-stage election system in France makes it hard for a Radical Right party to win any seats in the second round. These parties may win votes in the first round as voters protest incumbents, but the voters will abandon them in the decisive second round. In Germany, Radical Right parties might pick up some seats in the party-preference vote but they can't win any seats in the constituency votes. In contrast, the grand coalition between the two biggest parties encouraged Austrians to cast protest votes for the Radical Right, and this eventually propelled the Freedom Party into government.

The focus of this book is on hypothesis-testing, and not a summary of Radical Right parties or their history. Givens does provide some capsule histories, each one based mostly on an interview with a single leader from each party. For fuller accounts of these parties, see Kitschelt's _Radical Right in Western Europe_. However, Kitschelt emphasizes economic and social changes, which leaves room for Givens' argument about electoral systems and party strategy.

Givens' argument is credible, but partial, as you might expect from a hypothesis-testing exercise such as this one. It's also remarkably short, only 156pp, with lots of figures and tables.