The Radical Right as Niche Parties? The Ideological Landscape of Party Systems in Western Europe, 1980–2014

TLDR

The emergence of the radical right as a strong competitor to mainstream parties has fundamentally reshaped patterns of competition in many European party systems. This article systematically explores whether the ideological landscape in Western Europe has experienced programmatic mainstreaming of radical right parties through accommodation and moderation. The study analyzes positions and salience on liberal‑authoritarianism and economic issues using manifesto data from 68 parties across 17 countries. Empirical evidence shows a rightward shift in European party systems, with mainstream left and right parties increasing emphasis on liberal‑authoritarianism, while radical right parties remain niche competitors, becoming increasingly extreme and focused on liberal‑authoritarianism, underscoring implications for party competition and citizen representation.

Abstract

The emergence of the radical right as a strong competitor to mainstream parties has fundamentally reshaped patterns of competition in many European party systems. In this article, we systematically explore changes to the ideological landscape in Western Europe by examining whether there has been programmatic mainstreaming of radical right parties due to (a) accommodation to and (b) moderation by radical right parties. We examine positions and salience on liberal-authoritarianism and the salience of economic issues using manifesto data from 68 parties in 17 countries. Our findings provide empirical support for a rightward shift in European party systems: on liberal-authoritarianism, mainstream left and right parties have increased their emphasis and moved to the right. Yet radical right parties have generally remained niche competitors; they are increasingly extreme and more focused on liberal-authoritarianism. Our analysis has important implications for understanding party systems, party competition and citizen representation in Europe.