Party Politics · 2023 · 29 citations · 20 references
Social SciencesInternational RelationsPolitical ScienceComparative PoliticsPolitical SociologyRussian StudiesEuropean PoliticsPolitical IdeologyRussian PoliticsSoviet StudiesUkrainian StudiesComparative Data AnalysisEuropean Union PoliticsRoll-call Debate
The far right’s support for Putin is often assumed, yet comparative analyses of their stances on Russia are scarce, a gap that has grown more urgent since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The study seeks to identify which Western far‑right parties support Putin’s Russia. The authors analyze far‑right parties’ immediate reactions to the 2022 invasion across the EU and compare European Parliament roll‑call votes on anti‑Russia resolutions to test proposed sub‑categories. The analysis yields new sub‑categories of far‑right stances toward Putin’s Russia.
While an argument that the far right supports Putin is popular, comparative analysis of far-right parties’ stances on Russia is generally lacking. In the wake of the 2022 Russian (re)invasion of Ukraine, this becomes increasingly problematic. This study aims to fill this gap and provide an initial answer(s) to an increasingly important question of who supports Putin's Russia within the Western world. First, I examine the immediate reactions to the 2022 (re)invasion of far-right parties across the European Union. Based on the findings, new sub-categories within the far right in terms of stances on Putin’s Russia are proposed. Second, I provide a comparative analysis of the roll-call votes in the European Parliament on resolutions condemning Russia’s actions and test the proposed sub-categories.
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