Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

acceptedVersion

Publication Date

1-2018

Abstract

While many scholars have studied how right-wing populist parties (RWPP) have recently increased their vote shares in national elections in many countries, fewer studies have assessed why some sub-national regions favor RWPP more than others. Addressing this gap in the literature, we analyze regional variation in voter support for one of Europe’s most successful RWPP, the Front National (FN) Party of France which recently made it to the second round of France’s 2017 presidential elections. Our research design examines electoral results across French regions between 1992 and 2017 through the lens of four case studies analyzing regions where the FN has been consistently popular, gained in popularity, declined in popularity, and been consistently unpopular. Comparing these diverse regional cases, our study concludes that regional unemployment, urban support, and to a lesser degree past voting behavior are significant demand-side factors behind regional voting for right wing populism.

Discipline

Political Science

Research Areas

Political Science

Publication

Populism

Volume

1

Issue

2

First Page

87

Last Page

115

ISSN

2588-8064

Identifier

10.1163/25888072-00001011

Publisher

Brill

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1163/25888072-00001011

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