Populism in Western Europe Comparing Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands

In recent years populist movements and parties have become increasingly successful around the globe. In Western Europe populism has often been fused successfully with anti-immigrant appeals by parties such as the FPO (Freedom Party) in Austria or the PVV (Party for Freedom) in the Netherlands. Yet in Latin America populism is mostly linked with a left wing ideology illustrated by the Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. More recently, the Tea Party and the Occupy movement in the United States have shown the potential of populist bottom-up mobilization. This book develops our understanding of the breeding ground of populist parties through an investigation of which socio-demographic characteristics and attitudes in general contribute to populist voting at the individual level. Drawing on both quantitative and qualitative approaches and using case studies from Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium, it explains who votes for populist parties and for what reasons.

Despite the increasing academic interest in populism, we still lack understanding of individual factors contributing to populist voting. One of the main reasons for this is that populism is almost always attached to other ideologies which makes it difficult to isolate factors. This book draws on an innovative research design by comparing the reasons to vote for six populist parties which differ remarkably in terms of their host ideology in Belgium, The Netherlands, and Germany. The results show that populist voters are motivated by their dissatisfaction with the functioning of democracy and a desire for more direct democracy. Furthermore it appears that populist parties do not mobilize among one specific social group although deprived groups are generally more susceptible to populist voting. Finally, this study explored why some populist parties persist while others decline. Origins of party formation and how leaders organize their party internally seem the most important factors determining party persistence. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of populism, European politics and contemporary political theory.

1. Introduction 2. Defining populism 3. Measuring populism 4. Theories explaining populist voting 5. At your service! Lijst Pim Fortuyn in The Netherlands 6. Common sense. Lijst Dedecker in Belgium 7. Own people first! The Vlaams Belang in Belgium 8. Defending Henk & Ingrid from Islamification. The PVV in The Netherlands 9. Vote against, vote SP! The Socialistische Partij in The Netherlands 10. Wahltag ist protesttag! The PDS/Die Linke in Germany 11. Comparative perspectives

Teun Pauwels works at the Flemish Ministry of Education and Training and is scientific collaborator at the Université Libre de Bruxelles.