Oxford University Press Social Identity and Working Class Support for the Populist Radical Right: From Economic and Political Distress to Cultural Grievances

Why are blue-collar workers increasingly supporting the populist radical right in Western Europe? Previous explanations for this phenomenon suggest that it is the result of their economic and cultural grievances and their general discontent towards the political system. Social Identity and Working Class Support for the Populist Radical Right argues that these explanations are unable to account for why the working class - despite their deteriorating economic position in recent decades - would prefer to vote for a party family that they agree with more on cultural issues (the populist radical right) than economic issues (the populist radical or mainstream left). To explain this puzzle, the book develops a theory utilizing the literature on social identity. It argues and empirically finds that political and economic conditions relatively unfavourable to the working class increase blue-collar worker support for the populist radical right in Western Europe by strengthening these workers' national identity and thus also the salience they place on cultural issues. Castater and Han's analysis suggests that if governing parties desire to reduce support for the populist radical right, they should incorporate labour organizations into the welfare state reform process, enact economic policies that improve the well-being of a broad swath of the working class, and reduce the types of economic inequality that most affect blue-collar workers.