Duncan McDonnell

Many of today's populist radical right (PRR) leaders in Europe came through their party's youth wings. Yet, we know little about these organizations and how they support their parties. This book, which is not only the first to examine PRR youth wings, but is the first in English to look at youth wings of any ideological type, offers an in-depth investigation of their structures (organizational features, relationships with the senior party, and international networks) and agents (leaders and grassroots members). Covering ten PRR youth wings from across Europe and based on extensive interviews with over 50 PRR youth wing officials, original survey data, and document analysis, it finds that PRR youth wings are not merely peripheral future-oriented entities, but are central components of their parties in the here and now, acting as motors of mobilization, socialization, internationalization, professionalization, and normalization. The book argues that PRR youth wings function as Janus-faced institutions, supporting the populist radical right today and helping build the populist radical right of tomorrow.

The 2014 European Parliament elections were hailed as a "populist earthquake," with parties like the French Front National, UKIP and the Danish People's Party topping the polls in their respective countries. But what happened afterwards? Based on policy positions, voting data, and interviews conducted over three years with senior figures from fourteen radical right populist parties and their partners, this is the first major study to explain these parties' actions and alliances in the European Parliament. International Populism answers three key questions: why have radical right populists, unlike other ideological party types, long been divided in the Parliament? Why, although divisions persist, are many of them now more united than ever? And how does all this inform our understanding of the European populist radical right today? Arguing that these parties have entered a new international and transnational phase, with some trying to be "respectable radicals" while others embrace their shared populism, McDonnell and Werner shed new light on the past, present and future of one of the most important political phenomena of twenty-first-century Europe.

The 2014 European Parliament elections were hailed as a 'populist earthquake', with parties like the French Front National, UKIP and the Danish People’s Party topping the polls in their respective countries. But what happened afterwards? Based on policy positions, voting data, and interviews conducted over three years with senior figures from fourteen radical right populist parties and their partners, this is the first major study to explain these parties' actions and alliances in the European Parliament. International Populism answers three key questions: why have radical right populists, unlike other ideological party types, long been divided in the Parliament? Why, although divisions persist, are many of them now more united than ever? And how does all this inform our understanding of the European populist radical right today? Arguing that these parties have entered a new international and transnational phase, with some trying to be 'respectable radicals' while others embrace their shared populism, McDonnell and Werner shed new light on the past, present and future of one of the most important political phenomena of twenty-first-century Europe.

The main area of sustained populist growth in recent decades has been Western Europe, where populist parties have not only endured longer than expected, but have increasingly begun to enter government. Focusing on three high-profile cases in Italy and Switzerland – the Popolo della Libertà (PDL), Lega Nord (LN) and Schweizerische Volkspartei (SVP) – Populists in Power is the first in-depth comparative study to examine whether these parties are indeed doomed to failure in office as many commentators have claimed. Albertazzi and McDonnell’s findings run contrary to much of the received wisdom. Based on extensive original research and fieldwork, they show that populist parties can be built to last, can achieve key policy victories and can survive the experience of government, without losing the support of either the voters or those within their parties. Contributing a new perspective to studies in populist politics, Populists in Power is essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as scholars interested in modern government, parties and politics.

The main area of sustained populist growth in recent decades has been Western Europe, where populist parties have not only endured longer than expected, but have increasingly begun to enter government. Focusing on three high-profile cases in Italy and Switzerland – the Popolo della Libertà (PDL), Lega Nord (LN) and Schweizerische Volkspartei (SVP) – Populists in Power is the first in-depth comparative study to examine whether these parties are indeed doomed to failure in office as many commentators have claimed. Albertazzi and McDonnell’s findings run contrary to much of the received wisdom. Based on extensive original research and fieldwork, they show that populist parties can be built to last, can achieve key policy victories and can survive the experience of government, without losing the support of either the voters or those within their parties. Contributing a new perspective to studies in populist politics, Populists in Power is essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as scholars interested in modern government, parties and politics.