Abstract
This paper seeks to identify the factors that explain the variation in far-right party electoral success in the most advanced democracies. I argue that far-right parties in democracies with higher levels of ethnic fractionalization will experience more success, as there is more opportunity to create conflict between in-groups and marginalized out-groups in diverse settings. Further, I argue that ethnic fractionalization will have the most pronounced effect on far-right party success during times of economic hardship. I test these claims using data on far-right party electoral success in countries that are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development from 2012 to 2022 and find partial support for my claims. The results suggest that analyses of far-right electoral gains are highly dependent on the sample of countries examined and shed light on the strategies that these parties use to attract voters.
Keywords
far-right, fourth wave, immigration, fractionalization, economic hardship, voting behavior
How to Cite
Vidakovich, M. R., (2025) “ How Right Is Your Neighbor: Investigating Far-Right Party Success in a Fractionalized Society and Economic Hardship ”, Capstone, The UNC Asheville Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship 38(2).
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