FvD: Populist Hard Eurosceptic?

Over the last several years, a shift toward Eurosceptic populism has been apparent in the Dutch political landscape. The rise of Eurosceptic populism and the subsequent erosion of traditional centrist parties have been described as one of the most prominent changes of the last decade. One party that is relatively new to the Dutch political landscape is Forum for Democracy (FvD). This party soon has been characterised as hard Eurosceptic, anti-EU, and populist by political opponents and mass media. Although far-right political parties are often labeled Eurosceptic and populist, Euroscepticism is not a phenomenon with a single explanation. Political parties differ in their critical attitude toward the EU, and distinctions can be made between categories of populist right-wing parties. This thesis, therefore, examines the Eurosceptic and populist nature of FvD. In addition, it analyses what factors contribute to the success of far-right Dutch political parties, such as FvD. Qualitative...Show moreOver the last several years, a shift toward Eurosceptic populism has been apparent in the Dutch political landscape. The rise of Eurosceptic populism and the subsequent erosion of traditional centrist parties have been described as one of the most prominent changes of the last decade. One party that is relatively new to the Dutch political landscape is Forum for Democracy (FvD). This party soon has been characterised as hard Eurosceptic, anti-EU, and populist by political opponents and mass media. Although far-right political parties are often labeled Eurosceptic and populist, Euroscepticism is not a phenomenon with a single explanation. Political parties differ in their critical attitude toward the EU, and distinctions can be made between categories of populist right-wing parties. This thesis, therefore, examines the Eurosceptic and populist nature of FvD. In addition, it analyses what factors contribute to the success of far-right Dutch political parties, such as FvD. Qualitative research has been used to examine the degree of Euroscepticism, the populist nature and the factors contributing to the success of populist Eurosceptic parties. The FvD party is used as a case study in this paper. This research project is based on party manifestos, speeches and debates. The results show that FvD can be classified as a hard rejectionist Eurosceptic party and as populist radical right-wing. The success of far-right populist political parties can be explained on the basis of different aspects, such as anti-immigration sentiments, political distrust among voters, increased volatility, and charismatic leadership. Each aspect can be found in the manifestos and other related texts of FvD. Hence, these aspects can be considered one of the main reasons explaining the rise of far-right parties such as FvD. However, it should be noted that the factors based on voter motivations have largely been excluded. An additional focus on the factor of voter motives could have drawn a bigger picture and provided a better explanation for the recent rise of far-right political parties. Therefore, it is recommended that more research shall be conducted.Show less

Leiden University Student Repository

Documents

In Collections

FvD: Populist Hard Eurosceptic?