(iPoster) Greening the Radical Right Parties: Does Issue Expansion Increase Voter Support?

• In Event: Poster Sessions: Law and Courts & Elections and Voter Behavior
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: Elections and Voter Behavior

Abstract

Why do PRRPs adopt environmental agendas? Previous studies have shown that the strength of green parties and pro-environment public opinion positively influences the extent to which populist radical right parties (PRRPs) adopt environmental issues in their agendas. Yet we know less about how effective these strategies actually are for PRRPs themselves. Building on the literature of issue expansion and environmental chauvinism, my study proposes the following finding. Although adopting an environmental campaign does not help PRRPs gain votes, it is an effective strategy for them to avoid vote loss, conditional on how established green parties are. In other words, these greening strategies are less about going on the offensive and more about defending against the growing presence of green parties. Using a multilevel model, and adopting both macro and micro-level data, I assess the consequences of PRRPs’ policy agenda shift between 1980-2022. These findings challenge the notion that PRRPs can adopt “patriotic environmentalism” without risking alienation among their core supporters. In theoretical terms, the study enriches scholarship on party adaptation and issue evolution by showing that niche parties face significant constraints in expanding their issue agendas.

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