A Study On The Rise Of Populist Right-wing Parties And Its Influence In Contemporary Western Europe

The wave of populism is sweeping all the western world,which is the most significant signal that the current global political and economic pattern is profoundly changing.Especially in western Europe,where developed capitalist countries are concentrated after World War II,the right-wing populist parties are rising in Britain,France,Germany,Netherlands,Italy,Austria,Denmark,Norway,Sweden,Finland and other countries and it is reshaping the post-war political landscape.The pattern in which the left-wing Social Democratic Party and the right-wing conservative liberal party take turns in power has affected the policy trends of western European countries and the process of European integration.At the same time,it also poses a major challenge to the representative democracy and values of democratic pluralism of the West.This Research focuses the populist right-wing parties in the west part of Europe,and tries to answer the following questions:How to identify a "right-wing populist party"?What is the background and reason for its rapid rise?In what ways does it mobilize people and get support?How did its rise affect Western Europe and the entire Western world?What is the relationship between the current wave of populism and Western democracy?This thesis answers these questions by the following parts.1)By identifying the ideological characteristics of a right-wing populist party in Western Europe,we can make sure the location of this party family on the political spectrum.However,the ideology of populist parties is often chaotic,fuzzy,fragmented,and migratory.Based on an examination of populist and nationalist concepts and understanding of left and right political divisions,this study proposes a these party's core feature of "populism as a model and nationalism and takes this as a trait" is used as a standard for identifying right-wing populist parties in Western Europe.By this criterion,it can distinguish the populism of the right in Western Europe from that of the left in other regions,and also highlight the populism as a political strategy and political style.2)The rise of right-wing populist parties in Western Europe did not happen overnight,but experienced a long process of development after World War ?.Before the 1990s,these political parties could only be regarded as a spark of fire in Western European countries,and they were marginalized in the party structure.But after the 1990s,especially after the global financial crisis,right-wing populist parties became moderate in terms of extreme nationalism and expanded their supporters,while taking advantage of the European debt crisis,refugee crisis,and terrorist events as opportunities,and proposed anti-immigrant,anti-Islam,anti-European integration and other policies.Although these propositions have obvious characteristics of anti-constitutionalism,anti-multiple values,and xenophobia,they have also filled the gaps in traditional political issues of political parties and won political space and voters' supports.The fragmentation of voters also shows that the pragmatic transformation of such parties has increased their general mobilization.Nowadays,a large number of right-wing populist parties have become a protagonist in Western Europe.Nowadays,a large number of right-wing populist parties have become a prairie in Western Europe.Not only did they begin to form a cabinet,enter the government,or act as the largest opposition party in each country,but they also began to seek cross-country platforms and seek union within the EU framework.3)The rise of right-wing populism is deeply rooted in today's changing world.Since 2008,the financial crisis has swept the planet and triggered the sovereign debt crisis in Europe,which has seriously affected the economic and social development and recovery in Western Europe.Facing the impact of economic globalization and the wave of emerging industrial revolutions,Western Europe's world leadership in economic development,scientific and technological innovation,and cultural fields has been further weakened.The digital revolution has triggered changes in the social class structure of developed countries and the "new media revolution" in the field of communication,which have shaken the foundations of a democratic society.The influx of immigrant refugees has challenged the common values of European society,and these contradictions within the EU in the face of the crisis have further promoted the resurgence of conservative nationalism.After Western Europe's war,the left-and right-wing political parties took turns in power,and their ideology and policy propositions were getting closer.This was the problem of insufficient representation of western multiparty systems and representative democracy.It is these aspects that have provided the opportunity for the rise of right-wing populist parties.They held up the two flags of "democracy" and"nation" and won the support of some voters through a package of "non-political correctness" claims.4)The reason why right-wing populist parties can obtain popular support and have been successful in elections is inseparable from their highly provocative political discourse,efficient political mobilization strategies and pragmatic political actions.These three aspects together constitute the complete chain of "discourse-strategy-action" of right-wing populist parties,reflecting populism's two faces as "radical democratic ideals" and"political mobilization strategies" in concrete political practice.5)The rise of right-wing populist parties has impacted all parts of Western society.In party politics,it has compressed the political space of mainstream parties,enriched the political discourse and methods of activities of the parties,expanded the space for party competition,and reshaped the ecology of party politics.In terms of government governance,it has affected the policies of governments in Western Europe in the areas of immigration,welfare,economy,trade,and foreign affairs.On the EU side,it adds many uncertainties to the efficiency of the EU and the European integration process.In terms of social and cultural values,it has exacerbated the fragmentation of Western society,impacted the value of inclusive pluralist democracy,and promoted the popularity of popular protest culture and movement.6)The relationship between populism and western democracy is very complicated.We can neither simply oppose the two,nor can we deny the political risks that populism may bring.Challenges and opportunities always coexist.On the one hand,although populist parties often appear in the pursuit of "people-oriented" democracy,the pursuit of such radical democratic ideals often slips into authoritarian politics due to the emergence of charismatic political strongmen.So even today,populist parties in Western Europe do not completely deny Western democracy in terms of their propositions,nor do they break through the existing institutional framework in their behavior,but they may still pose a major threat to Western democracy in the future.On the other hand,despite the "anti-establishment" stance of populist parties,this critical stance has injected momentum into the self-adjustment of mainstream western political parties and representative democracy.It is precisely in the past that they constantly responded to the changing needs of the people,constantly overcome crises again and again,and continued to adapt themselves to changes,so that western political parties and systems have become more mature and resilient.This study talks about the ideological characteristics,political discourse,political strategies,political actions,reasons for the rise and the impact of the right-wing populist parties in Western Europe.Several research methods were used in this process.First,using historical materialism to examine Western European right-wing populist parties under the logic of"technical revolutions trigger social change." This research tries to break through the limitations of traditional party research as much as possible,hoping to observe the world in a changing age through the epitome of the rise of right-wing populist parties in Western Europe.Second,this study combines the knowledge and theories of multiple disciplines to explain how the right-wing populist party can emerge in Western Europe and how it has impacted Western European society.Thirdly,this research combines normative research and empirical research,and tries to assist specific right-wing populist political party examples and data as support in the writing process,so that the viewpoint can be more realistic and convincing.Finally,this study talks about the relationship between populism and modern western democracy from a historical perspective.