Globalization, the Welfare State and Right-Wing Populism in Western Europe

Posted: 29 Feb 2008

Date Written: MAY 2003

Abstract

We outline and test the argument that globalization contributes to the electoral success of the new far right in Western Europe. We also draw on the theory of embedded liberalism to advance and test the hypothesis that a comprehensive, generous and employment-orientated system of social protection lessens the economic insecurities attendant to internationalization and, in turn, weakens support for far-right parties. In empirical analysis of national elections in 16 European polities from 1981 to 1998, we find that the universal welfare state directly depresses the vote for radical right-wing populist parties and conditions the linkages between capital mobility, trade openness and foreign immigration on the one hand and electoral support for the new far right on the other. In conclusion, we consider our findings' implications for understanding the domestic political effects of globalization and sources of right-wing populism as well as for policy reforms that promote political economic stability in an era of international integration.

Keywords: globalization, right-wing populism, welfare state political parties, Europe

Suggested Citation

Swank, Duane and Betz, Hans-Georg, Globalization, the Welfare State and Right-Wing Populism in Western Europe (MAY 2003). Socio-Economic Review, Vol. 1, pp. 215-245, 2003, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=811418

Duane Swank (Contact Author)

Marquette University

P.O. Box 1881
Milwaukee, WI 53201
United States

Hans-Georg Betz (Contact Author)

York University

4700 Keele Street
Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3
Canada

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