The Populist Radical Right and Social Movements

In recent years, substantial scholarly attention has been devoted to radical right populist parties (RRPPs). Scholars have particularly considered the role of such variables as electoral laws, coalition-building strategies of mainstream parties and other supply-side variables pertaining to the workings of party systems in different countries. Demand-side variables of an attitudinal nature have also been extensively considered. However, the radical right as a political ideology also constitutes a fertile ground for social movements – for instance, the English Defence League in the UK – which are not parties but significant protest-oriented forms of political participation. These formations are prominent campaigners on several controversial issues; they interact with other RRPPs, sometimes forming broad coalitions; and they have large followings in several European countries. It will be argued that, without an understanding of the social roots, cultural significance and grievances of these movements, it is difficult to explain the appearance trajectory and sometimes institutionalization of RRPPs. This is also because, in many contexts, parties and social movements of the radical right coexist with and complement each other. Yet the connections between movements and parties of this type are rarely explored. This chapter will consider these connections with particular reference to Europe. In doing so, it will connect two bodies of literature – the literature on social movements and the literature on RRPPs