Two papers explicitly examine questions of identity and ideational politics. Bustikov’s paper on radical right mobilization, for example, investigates the extent to which xenophobia and inter-group hostilities have shaped support for the radical right among Ukrainian voters. In contrast, Herman’s paper takes an elite-centered approach to the study of ideas and identities. In an effort to understand the rise of Fidesz—and the frailty of democracy--in Hungary, she analyzes partisan discourses and the internalization of democratic norms. Meyerrose’s paper also interrogates the Hungarian case, investigating how European Union policies paved the way for the rise of unopposed center-right populist parties and the weakening of liberal democratic institutions. Finally, Watson et al explore the economic determinants of rising patterns of political polarization in France, and how these are mediated by variations in electoral institutions, while Padoan investigates how economic crisis and welfare institutions (insider/outsider divides) influence the relationship between unions and left populist parties in southern Europe.
In addition to being conceptually and geographically diverse, the panel’s papers are also methodologically plural, drawing on a range of epistemologies and data sources, including original surveys, confidential administrative data, ethnographic interviews, and comparative case studies.
