A Pacifying Effect? Radical Right Populist Parties and Defence Policy

• In Event: Political Organizations and Parties & Political Networks & American Political Thought & Education Politics and Policy Virtual Poster Session
  In Virtual Poster Session: Political Organizations and Parties Virtual Poster Session

Abstract

Despite growing demand to understand multi-dimensions of radical right populism, whether populist ideology impacts security policy at home and abroad is understudied. Surging radical right populist parties (RRPPs) do not have much to pronounce about waging for costly military engagement. Conventional wisdom exhibits that a hawkish political party backed by bellicose public opinion takes a hard-line in the security policy dimension. Yet, we know little about how and whether surging right-wing populist parties, whose exclusive nationalism cannot be explained by hawkish-dovish distinction, interact with this inference. This paper analyzes causal relationship between RRPP's parliamentary presence and effects on security policies. Observing 31 European countries, I tests the effect of RRPP's establishment on internal and external security policy. The first study hypothesizes that military engagement decreases after RRPPs join parliament. The second study looks at whether RRPP success would cause a shift in domestic law and order positioning of other parties. The quasi-experimental analysis endorses the first expectation. Yet, the second study provides no evident in support of the argument that the RRPP's entrance in parliament has arose the level of law and order positioning of other parties. This result is incongruent with the popular expectation that the parliamentary presence of radical right populist strengthen the level of law and order.

Authors

• Miku Matsunaga, The University of Tokyo

• Thomas Winzen, University of Mannheim