Supranationalism vs. the nation: Effects of European Union integration on radical right party fortunes

Why do we find electoral support for radical right parties increasing at similar points in time in states with different economic, political, and demographic conditions? The European states that witnessed a rise in support for these parties in the late 1990s display variation in many of the domestic conditions that are typically used to explain voter support for the radical right---these include unemployment, immigration, and party system variables. The extant literature focuses on these types of domestic-level explanations; the international level has thus far avoided similar scrutiny. This work differs from the existing scholarly efforts on the radical right in two ways. First, it focuses on an international-level demand-side variable, namely, deeper European Union (EU) integration enacted in the Maastricht Treaty and subsequent European texts. Second, it integrates this international-level explanation with political system and supply-side domestic-level variables typically found in the literature on the radical right. These elements are combined to create a theoretical model intended to explain where radical right parties performed well and how they benefited from public reaction to deeper levels of EU integration. The empirical examination, using statistical methods, political opportunity space analyses, and case studies provides support for the theoretical model's assertions that radical right parties performed well after their state had signed on to a more integrated EU and where the mainstream right left public concerns with integration unaddressed.