Journals / Anadolu Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi / 2021 / Cilt: 21 Sayı: 3

The Covid-19 Crisis: Opportunity or Threat for Populist Radical Right Parties in Europe?

Pages
805–826
Publication Date
2021-09-27
🏛️Bibliographic metadata and full text access for this article are provided via DergiPark.
DergiPark Record ↗
✨

AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

The trend of the rise of European PRRPs before the pandemic is revisited and discussed in light of the findings.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:Starting as a public health problem, the Covid-19 pandemic has become a multi-dimensional crisis that involves various policy areas.
📊
Key Findings & Data:This study aims to investigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the discourse and popular support of European PRRPs in its first year.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:The trend of the rise of European PRRPs before the pandemic is revisited and discussed in light of the findings.
🔬Design:Araştırma Makalesi
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Covid-19 · Crisis · Europe

Özet

Starting as a public health problem, the Covid-19 pandemic has become a multi-dimensional crisis that involves various policy areas. Crises have the potential to change priorities and trigger various reflexes in any given society, including a realignment on the political spectrum. In Europe, Populist Radical Right Parties (PRRPs) were on the rise due to the previous crises in Europe. In this context, have these parties appealed more or less to voters during the pandemic? This study aims to investigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the discourse and popular support of European PRRPs in its first year. The responses of the PRRPs of Austria, France, Germany and Italy to the pandemic and its governance are explored through leaders’ Twitter posts. Changes in popular support for the political mainstream and the PRRPs are examined through recent opinion polls. The trend of the rise of European PRRPs before the pandemic is revisited and discussed in light of the findings.

🔖

Cite This Article

Çilingir, S. (2021). The Covid-19 Crisis: Opportunity or Threat for Populist Radical Right Parties in Europe?. Anadolu Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, Cilt: 21 Sayı: 3, 805–826. https://doi.org/10.18037/ausbd.1001658

📄 Full Text PDF Viewer

📄

PDF görüntüleyici hazırlanıyor...

References (52)

  1. A Year of Protests and Civil Disobedience. (2020, 28 December). France24. Retrieved from: https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20201228-2020-a-year-of-dissent-and-civil-disobedience
  2. AfD: What You Need to Know about Germany’s Far Right Party. (2019, 28 October). DW. Retrieved from: https://www.dw.com/en/afd-what-you-need-to-know-about-germanys-far-right-party/a-37208199
  3. Aknur, M. and Saylan, İ. (2020). Avrupa demokrasisine yönelik güncel bir tehdit: Popülist radikal sağın yükselişi [A current threat to European democracy: The rise of populist radical right]. Ankara Avrupa Çalışmaları Dergisi, 18(2), 289-324. doi: 10.32450/aacd.676473
  4. Albertazzi, D. and McDonnell, D. (2008). Introduction: The sceptre and the spectre. In D. Albertazzi, and D. McDonnell (Eds.), Twenty-First century populism: The spectre of Western European democracy (pp. 5-11). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
  5. Alvarez-Rivera, M. (2019, 21 October). Election resources on the internet. Retrieved from: http://electionresources.org/
  6. Anti-lockdown Protesters Turn on the Police in Spain and Italy. (2020, 2 November). The Times. Retrieved from: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/anti-lockdown-protesters-turn-on-the-police-in-spain-and-italy-3h2qsvjq3
  7. Associated Press in Rome. (2020, 30 July). Italy's senate votes to lift Matteo Salvini's immunity from prosecution. The Guardian. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/30/italys-senate-votes-to-lift-matteo-salvinis-immunity-from-prosecution
  8. Austria Election: Sebastian Kurz's People's Party in Convincing Win. (2019, 30 September). BBC News. Retrieved from: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49867930
  9. Austria: Herbert Kickl Elected to Lead Far Right Freedom Party. (2021, 20 June). DW. Retrieved from: https://www.dw.com/en/austria-herbert-kickl-elected-to-lead-far-right-freedom-party/a-57971160
  10. Banned Vienna Protest Against Lockdown Draws 200. (2020, 24 April), US News. Retrieved from: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2020-04-24/banned-vienna-protest-against-lockdown-draws-200
  11. Blais, A., Bol, D., Giani, M. and Loewen, P. (2020). The effect of COVID‐19 lockdowns on political support: Some good news for democracy?. European Journal of Political Research, 60(2), 497-505. doi:10.1111/1475-6765.12401
  12. Bodlos, A. and Plescia, C. (2018). The 2017 Austrian snap election: a shift rightward. West European Politics, 41(6), 1354-1363. doi: 10.1080/01402382.2018.1429057
  13. Bushholz, K. (2021, 22 January). Europe stays in lockdown mode. Statista. Retrieved from: https://www.statista.com/chart/23330/coronavirus-restrictions-europe-map/
  14. Ellinas, A. A. (2018). Media and the radical right. In J. Rydgren (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of the radical right (pp. 390-410). New York: Oxford University Press.
  15. Connolly, K. (2020, 3 August). Berlin protests against coronavirus rules divides German leaders. The Guardian. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/03/berlin-protests-against-coronavirus-rules-divide-german-leaders
  16. European Commission. (2021). A recovery plan for Europe. Retrieved from: https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/recovery-plan-europe_en
  17. European Observatory against Disinformation. (2021, 11 November). The three common threads that link anti-lockdown protests in Europe’. Retrieved from: https://www.disinfobservatory.org/the-three-common-threads-that-link-anti-lockdown-protests-in-europe/
  18. European Parliament. (2021). 2019 European election results. Retrieved from: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/election-results-2019/en/tools/comparative-tool/
  19. Eurostat. (2021a). Covid-19: Economy. Retrieved from: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/covid-19/economy
  20. Eurostat. (2021b). Covid-19: Society and work. Retrieved from: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/covid-19/society-work
  21. Eurozone Budget Deficits Rise Nearly Tenfold to Counter Covid-19 Pandemic. (2020, 19 October). Business Standard. Retrieved from: https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/eurozone-budget-deficits-rise-nearly-tenfold-to-counter-covid-19-pandemic-120101901410_1.html
  22. Gehrke, L. (2021, 22 January). Germany’s far-right AfD files lawsuits to avoid Security Service surveillance. Politico. Retrieved from: https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-afd-lawsuits-against-security-service-surveillance/
  23. German Court Suspends Surveillance for Far Right AfD, for Now. (2021, 5 March). DW. Retrived from: https://www.dw.com/en/german-court-suspends-surveillance-of-far-right-afd-for-now/a-56785125
  24. German Police Clash with Protesters angry at Merkel’s Coronavirus Law. (2020, 18 November). Reuters. Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-germany-protests-idINKBN27Y15T
  25. Giuffrida, A. (2019, 20 August). Italian PM resigns with attack on ‘opportunist’ Salvini. The Guardian. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/20/italian-pm-expected-resign-giuseppe-conte
  26. Goodwin, M.J. and Dennison J. (2018). The radical right in the United Kingdom. In J. Rydgren (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of the radical right (pp. 739-769). New York: Oxford University Press.
  27. Health System Response Monitor. (2021). Compare countries. Retrieved 31 January, 2021, from: https://www.covid19healthsystem.org/searchandcompare.aspx
  28. Henley, J. (2020, 6 July). France's new prime minister keeps key figures in reshuffled cabinet. The Guardian. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/06/france-new-prime-minister-jean-castex-reshuffled-cabinet-macron
  29. Iniguez, G., Weizman, J., Fidanovski, K., Palowski, N. and Boucart, T. (2020, 22 April). When our loss is their gain: Covid-19 and government popularity around Europe. The New Federalist. Retrieved from: https://www.thenewfederalist.eu/when-our-loss-is-their-gain-covid-19-and-government-popularity-around?lang=fr
  30. Italy Judge Rules Salvini Should not Stand Trial in Migrant Ship Case. (2021, 14 May). Reuters. Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/italy-judge-rules-salvini-should-not-stand-trial-migrant-ship-case-2021-05-14/
  31. Kriesi, H. and Pappas, T.S. (Eds.). (2015). European populism in the shadow of great recession: Studies in political science. Colchester: ECPR Press.
  32. Lardieri, A. (2020, 17 November). Austria enters national lockdown after seeing record Coronavirus cases. US News. Retrieved from: https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2020-11-17/austria-enters-second-national-lockdown-after-seeing-record-coronavirus-cases
  33. Most Germans on board with coronavirus lockdown. (2020, 16 December). DW. Retrieved from: https://www.dw.com/en/most-germans-on-board-with-coronavirus-lockdown/a-55965289
  34. Mudde, C. (2017). Populism: An ideational approach. In Rovira Kaltwasser, C., Taggart, P., Espejo, P.O. and Ostiguy, P. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of populism (pp. 27-47). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  35. Mudde, C. and Rovira Kaltwasser, C. (2017). Populism: A very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  36. Murray, S. (2017, 28 June). The "rally-'round-the-flag" phenomenon and the diversionary use of force. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics. Retrieved from: https://oxfordre.com/politics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228637-e-518. doi: 10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.518
  37. Osborne, S. (2021, 27 January). Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte resigns in tactical bid to form new coalition. The Independent. Retrieved from: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/italy-prime-minister-giuseppe-conte-resigns-b1793100.html
  38. Öner, S. (2014). Different manifestations of the rise of far-right in European politics: The cases of Germany and Austria. Marmara Journal of European Studies, 22(2), 85-106. Poli, M.D. (2016). Contemporary populism and the economic crisis in Western Europe. Baltic Journal of Political Science, 5, 40-52. doi: 10.15388/BJPS.2016.5.10335
  39. Politico (2021a). How POLITICO poll of polls tracks polling trends across Europe. Retrieved from: https://www.politico.eu/article/how-politico-poll-of-polls-tracks-polling-trends-across-europe/
  40. Politico (2021b). Poll of polls. Retrieved from: https://www.politico.eu/europe-poll-of-polls/
  41. Thousands protest in Vienna as far-right march on COVID measures banned. (2021, 31 January). Reuters. Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-austria-demo-idUSKBN2A00K5
  42. Tondo, L. (2020, October 2). Matteo Salvini goes on trial over migrant kidnapping charges. The Guardian. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/02/matteo-salvini-set-to-be-tried-over-migrant-kidnapping-charges-italy
  43. Top Macron Ally Bayrou quits French government. (2017, 21 June). BBC News. Retrieved from: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40351918
  44. Tournier-Sol, K. (2020). From UKIP to the Brexit party: The politicization of European integration and disruptive impact on national and European arenas. Journal of Contemporary European Studies, 29(3), 380-390. doi: 10.1080/14782804.2020.1785849
  45. Turner, E. (2013). The 5 Star Movement and its discontents: A tale of blogging, comedy, electoral success and tensions. Interface, 5(2), 178-212. Retrieved from: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-5-Star-Movement-and-its-discontents-%3A-A-tale-of-Turner/0e902c899cdf92a4c92df658526ccb36db096dfc
  46. van Kessel, S. (2015). Populist parties in Europe: Agents of discontent?. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
  47. Vasipoulou, S. (2011). European integration and the radical right: Three patterns of opposition. Government and Opposition, 46(2), 223-244. doi: 10.1111/j.1477-7053.2020.01337.x
  48. Verbeek, B. and Zaslove, A. (2017). Populism and foreign policy. In Rovira Kaltwasser, C., Taggart, P., Espejo, P.O. and Ostiguy, P. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of populism (pp. 384-405). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  49. Weyland, K. (2017). Populism: a political-strategic approach. In Rovira Kaltwasser, C., Taggart, P., Espejo, P.O. and Ostiguy, P. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of populism (pp. 48-72). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  50. Woods, E. T., Schertzer, R., Greenfeld, L. Hughes, C. and Miller-Idriss, C. (2020). COVID-19, nationalism, and the politics of crisis: A scholarly exchange. Nations and Nationalism, 26(4), 807-825. doi: 10.1111/nana.12644.
  51. World Health Organization. (2021a). COVID-19 situation in the WHO European region. Retrieved 31 January, 2021, from: https://who.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/ead3c6475654481ca51c248d52ab9c61
  52. World Health Organization. (2021b). WHO Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) dashboard. Retrieved 31 January, 2021, from: https://covid19.who.int/#