The making and awaking of the european far right: a qualitative analysis of far right supporters in denmark and poland
This project will study the rise of far right parties and movements in Poland and Denmark. First, I will investigate the extent to which the far right’s growing support stems from some individuals adopting far right-wing ideologies (the making of new supporters), and from existing sympathizers becoming active in their support (the awakening of existing supporters). To do this, I will conduct in-depth interviews with far right supporters who voted for a far right party, whether right-wing populist or radical right, in either 2015, 2019, or both. An analysis of the informants’ life histories—specifically how their perceptions, values and behaviours fit into broader socio-political contexts—will improve contemporary understandings of the nature and causes of growing far right support. Second, I will examine how religion, gender and political opportunity structures contribute to the making or awakening of far right supporters. Specifically, by comparing the life histories, perceptions, values, and behaviour of far right supporters in two disparate settings—Denmark and Poland—I will examine how (1) the degree of national secularism/religiosity, and the structure of religious institutions to which religious supporters belong, (2) the strength of left-wing political alternatives, and the position of far right parties (majority/minority) in government, and (3) hegemonic conceptions of gender roles and norms, shape why and how far right supporters come to adopt far right ideologies, and why and when they choose to act on those ideals. Third, this project will provide important new evidence about the growth of far right support in a Central-Eastern European context, which has remained relatively understudied despite a significant rise of the far right.