ABSTRACT

One of the most contentious and debated changes in the field of European politics in recent years has been the ongoing electoral rise of radical right parties (RRPs). This development has been ubiquitous across EU member states and beyond, from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean and from the Benelux countries to the post-communist nations (Startin and Brack 2016). The radical right has made electoral progress in national, local and European electoral contexts as parties such as the French Front National, the Austrian Freedom Party, the Danish People's Party, the Party for Freedom in the Netherlands, Golden Dawn in Greece and Jobbik in Hungary have had varying impacts and influences within their respective party systems. In the 2014 European elections certain RRPs made significant electoral progress (see also Chapter 32 in this Handbook). The French National Front (FN) and the Danish People's Party (DPP) both polled around a quarter of the popular vote and the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) one in five votes cast. 1