2 - A Theory of Radical Right Mobilization

Summary

This book explores the survival, performance and dynamics of radical right politics during peacetime, and Chapter 2 advances a theory of radical right mobilization grounded in the logic of electoral counter-mobilization, which originates in resentment about adverse shifts in the status quo that affect minority–majority relations. The core thesis is that radical right parties mobilize to keep minorities from advancing. The ire of radical right voters is not directed at all minorities, but specifically at minorities (and their allies) that aspire to change the status quo in their favor through the political process. Radical right mobilization does not originate in the demons of xenophobia or group hostility, as is often argued, but rather in policy shifts that reflect changes in the status quo and signal the social advancement of minorities. The state is the ultimate sovereign that is charged with regulating the relationship between the dominant group and minorities, and the appropriate assortment of accommodation, exclusion and repression. Radical right mobilization results from the sovereign’s resentment regarding its diminished status, and represents a revolt against a political system that has allowed minorities to gain political power and advance their causes.