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This chapter attempts to explain why extreme right-wing parties are popular in some European Union countries & not in others, an important question because of the growing differences in attitudes among EU member states. Data from several national & international surveys conducted in the 1990s (a total of 49,801 respondents) on right-wing voting behavior in 16 West European countries were analyzed in relation to national differences in social structure, public opinion, economic conditions, political conditions, characteristics of extreme right-wing parties, & relations between individual-level & contextual characteristics. The findings show that, across countries, people who were poorer, un- or under-employed, less educated, non-religious, younger, & male tended to vote for right-wing parties. Between-country differences were explained more by public opinion; in particular, in countries where more people had anti-immigrant attitudes & expressed dissatisfaction with democracy, there was greater support for extreme right-wing parties. Tables, Figures. J. Stanton

The diverse groups that constitute the right-wing populist movement in the US are united by their antitax, antiregulation, & gun control beliefs. Echoing the historical themes of white supremacists, state's rights advocates, & anti-Semitics, members of this movement's militia groups further believe that a secret elite conspiracy controls the US government, economy, & culture. This is because militia leaders employ conspiracy rhetoric in their attempt to manipulate people's real fears & grievances by directing their anger at federal law enforcement, Jews, abortion providers, prochoice activists, environmentalists, homosexuals, immigrants, people of color, & welfare recipients. By embracing violence scapegoating, these right-wing populists curtail the possibility of any serious dialogue within the democratic process. 2 References. M. Maguire

In parliament, populist parties express their positions almost every day through voting. There is great diversity among them, for instance between left-wing and right-wing populist parties. This gives rise to the question: is the parliamentary behaviour of populists motivated by their populism or by their position on the left/right spectrum? This article compares the parliamentary voting behaviour of the Dutch SP and PVV, the only left-wing and right-wing populist parties that have been in a Western European parliament for more than four years. We find that for their voting behaviour the left/right position of these populist parties is more important than their shared populism. Only on one core populist issue (opposition to supranational institutions) do we find strong similarity in their voting behaviour. Adapted from the source document.

'New media' information technologies were recently thought to be so intrinsically different from 'old,' mass media, technologies that fascism would no longer be possible. Through new media information and communication technologies, the political 'mass' was supposedly replaced by the 'crowd' or the 'swarm,' and an old mass media replaced by a new media serving individual 'information needs.' However, extreme right-wing political populism and encroaching fascism today are world-wide phenomena in developed countries, not only despite new media, but partly because of it. How is this possible?

Uses business conflict analysis to examine the complex relationship between business interests & ultraconservative movements in the US, described as those that go beyond the usual conservative defense of established power relations, but stop short of demanding total elimination of all liberal pluralistic institutions. The focus is on the role of capitalism in bringing these groups together in the New Right that emerged in the 1970s & disintegrated in the 1980s & 1990s. Special attention is given to parallels between policy disputes among right-wing politicians & capitalist factional divisions, beginning with conflicts between members of the business class who supported or opposed the New Deal system. Barry Goldwater's 1964 presidential campaign allowed business nationalists to regain control of the national Republican Party, laid the groundwork for the emergence of the New Right, & was vital for Ronald Reagan's victories. Factors that helped to splinter the right-wing/business coalition include economic trends, Pat Buchanan's isolationist campaign, & Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition. Future prospects for the alliance between business interests & right-wing politics are discussed. J. Lindroth