The Rise of Populism in Western Europe : A Media Analysis on Failed Political Messaging

This book explores the question of why and under which conditions right-wing populist parties receive electoral support. The author argues that neither economic variables, nor national culture or history are what account for their successes. Instead, he illustrates that the electoral success of populist parties in Western Europe, such as the French Front National or the Alternative for Germany, is best understood as the unintended consequence of misleading political messaging on the part of established political actors. A two-level theory explains why moderate politicians have changed their approaches to political messaging, potentially benefiting the nationalist, anti-elitist and anti-immigration rhetoric of their populist contenders. Lastly, the book's theoretical assumptions are empirically validated by case studies on the immigration societies of Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden. "Timo Lochocki's fascinating book systematically shows that the fortunes of nationalist parties depend, at least in part, on the positions adopted by their more mainstream competitors." Tim Bale, Queen Mary University of London, UK "This book provides valuable insights into populist radical-right politics in Western Europe. Timo Lochocki argues that a "crisis of conservatism" created the perfect context for the rise of nationalist parties." Cas Mudde, University of Georgia, GA, USA "Timo Lochocki's book uses high-quality comparative research to tackle numerous misperceptions and mistaken assumptions about the rise and persistence of nationalist parties across Europe. It is a must-read for anybody following the debate on where Europe is today and where it might be tomorrow." Matthew Goodwin, University of Kent, UK Front Matter ....Pages i-xviii Introduction: How the Failed Political Messaging of Moderate Political Actors Strengthens Populist Radical Right Parties (Timo Lochocki)....Pages 1-4 The Riddle: Why Are Some Populist Radical Right Parties More Successful than Others? (Timo Lochocki)....Pages 5-15 State of Research: Linking Social Theory with Comparative Politics (Timo Lochocki)....Pages 17-32 Research Design: Ensuring High Validity and High Reliability Under the Auspices of Comparative Case Studies (Timo Lochocki)....Pages 33-54 Empirical Results: Why Populists Win or Lose—A Two-Level Theory (Timo Lochocki)....Pages 55-71 The Netherlands: The PvdA’s Pyrrhic Victories or, Waiting for Pim Fortuyn (Timo Lochocki)....Pages 73-86 Sweden: How the Liberals (FP) Gave Birth to the Swedish Democrats (SD) (Timo Lochocki)....Pages 87-99 Germany: How a Conservative Compromise Between CDU/CSU and SPD Blocked the Populist Radical Right Parties REP and Schill (Timo Lochocki)....Pages 101-133 Generalizing the Findings: Explaining the Rise of UKIP and the AfD (Timo Lochocki)....Pages 135-150 Conclusion: It’s Political Messaging, Stupid! (Timo Lochocki)....Pages 151-162