Extreme right parties in Western Europe

Abstract:

This book has three goals. It aims in the first part to assess the ideological meaning of 'extreme right' and its political expression, beginning with an exploration of the meaning and usefulness of the Left-Right distinction. How does it relate to the expressions 'radical', 'new', 'populist' and 'extreme right'? The second part comprises a series of country by country analyses of the post war evolution of the extreme right in Western Europe. The third part discusses in more detail the recent trends of the extreme right in Western Europe and presents a conceptual framework to explain the development of this 'political family' and the success or failure of each political party.

The work will interest scholars and students of comparative politics.

Piero Ignazi is Professor of Comparative Politics at the University of Bologna.