Social Identity and Working Class Support for the Populist Radical Right: From Economic and Political Distress to Cultural Grievances

Why are blue-collar workers increasingly supporting the populist radical right in Western Europe? Previous explanations for this phenomenon suggest that it is the result of their economic and cultural grievances and their general discontent towards the political system. Social Identity and Working Class Support for the Populist Radical Right argues that these explanations are unable to account for why the working class - despite their deteriorating economic position in recent decades - would prefer to vote for a party family that they agree with more on cultural issues (the populist radical right) than economic issues (the populist radical or mainstream left).

To explain this puzzle, the book develops a theory utilizing the literature on social identity. It argues and empirically finds that political and economic conditions relatively unfavourable to the working class increase blue-collar worker support for the populist radical right in Western Europe by strengthening these workers’ national identity and thus also the salience they place on cultural issues. Castater and Han’s analysis suggests that if governing parties desire to reduce support for the populist radical right, they should incorporate labour organizations into the welfare state reform process, enact economic policies that improve the well-being of a broad swath of the working class, and reduce the types of economic inequality that most affect blue-collar workers.

Eric G. Castater, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Kennesaw State University, Kyung Joon Han, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Eric Graig Castater is an Assistant Professor in the School of Government and International Affairs at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Georgia. His research focuses on labour politics, the causes and consequences of economic inequality, and the rise of populist radical political parties in the wealthy democracies. His articles have appeared in West European Politics, European Journal of Political Research, European Politics and Society, Business and Politics, and Research in Social Stratification and Mobility.

Kyung Joon Han is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His research focuses on party politics, populist radical right-wing parties, international migration, income inequality, and labour politics in industrialized countries. His articles have appeared in journals such as British Journal of Political Science, International Studies Quarterly, European Journal of Political Research, Party Politics, West European Politics, and Electoral Studies.