REVIEWS | EXCERPT | CONTENTS | AUTHOR BIO | SUBJECT CATEGORIESA comparative study of how historical cleavages and party strategies interact to shape the fortunes of the populist right in Western Europe Cleavage Politics and the Populist RightThe New Cultural Conflict in Western EuropeSearch the full text of this bookSimon Bornschier
Since the 1990s, right-wing populist parties in Western Europe have gained sizable vote shares and power, much to the fascination and consternation of political observers. Meshing traditionalism and communitarian ideals, right-wing populist parties have come to represent a polar normative ideal to the New Left in Western Europe. In his dynamic study Cleavage Politics and the Populist Right, Simon Bornschier applies a cultural as well as a political dimension to analyze the parties of both the right and left in six countries. He develops a theory that integrates the role of political conflict around both established cleavages and party strategies regarding new divisions to explain the varying fortunes of the populist right. Combining innovative data from election campaigns and opinion surveys, Cleavage Politics and the Populist Right explains the emergence of the Front National in France and the transformation of the Swiss People's Party to right-wing populism. Where the populist right has made a breakthrough, a new cultural cleavage has formed. When established parties succeed in averting the entry of a right-wing populist competitor, however, the new cultural conflict presents itself in tempered form, as demonstrated in the case of Germany. ExcerptReviews"Bornschier’s line of argument in Cleavage Politics and the Populist Right is original, and his methods employed for the empirical analyses are very sophisticated. This book provides excellent research, and readers can follow the author's arguments and interpretations without difficulty." "Empirically rich, methodologically sophisticated, and theoretically compelling, Bornschier's book not only settles some outstanding debates in the literature but also frames important questions about the basic dividing lines of European politics." "Bornschier has produced a very well researched and written book on an important topic." ContentsList of Illustrations and Tables
About the Author(s)
Subject CategoriesPolitical Science and Public Policy
In the seriesSocial Logic of Politics, edited by Scott D. McClurg. The Social Logic of Politics Series, edited by Scott D. McClurg (formerly edited by Alan S. Zuckerman), directs attention to several related clusters of research in the social sciences. At the core is a theoretical principle: individuals make political decisions, like other choices, by taking into account cues from other persons. Studies move from individuals to groups to large scale collectivities. Usually examining micro-politics-voting and other forms of political participation; the place of politics in households, the family, the friendship unit, and the neighborhood- this research also studies how broader political and social contexts influence and are influenced by these micro-processes. It includes as well "small group behavior" in political institutions, such as exchanges of cues in legislatures and patron-client relations in bureaucratic agencies and political parties. Books in The Social Logic of Politics Series will apply research techniques that run the gamut of contemporary political science, sociology, communications, and geography. |