Pariahs in their midst: Belgian and Norwegian parties react to extremist threats

Abstract

When extremist parties enter representative institutions through legitimate democratic means, how do established, mainstream parties respond? Traditional conservative parties throughout Europe face the reality that radical right‐wing parties are winning representation across all levels of the polity: subnational councils, national legislatures, and the European Parliament. While the political science literature has endeavoured to explain the recent electoral gains of such parties as Belgium's Vlaams Blok and Norway's Progress Party, scant attention has been paid to the equally important question of how established democratic parties cope with extremists once inside legislative assemblies. This article compares the observations and preferences of elected representatives who, by democracy's lot, are confronted by pariahs in their midst. Evidence from local councillors in Antwerp and Oslo reveals significant internal party uncertainty over strategy and suggests that electoral ambition and perceptions of ‘democratic responsibility ‘ help shape strategic preferences.