This paper aims to compare the effects of economic slumps on the electoral gains of European radical far-right populist parties by comparing the impact of the Great Depression on the rise of the...Show moreThis paper aims to compare the effects of economic slumps on the electoral gains of European radical far-right populist parties by comparing the impact of the Great Depression on the rise of the Nazis in Germany and the impact of the Great Recession on the contemporary electoral gains of far-right parties, such as the Front Nacional in France. Parallels are drawn between the xenophobic ideologies of both types of party, the views these parties had regarding the existing European political structures and dynamics, and their shared use of populism as a pragmatic political tool. All in all, it is found that, even though both phenomena share inherent similarities, due to the fact that the Great Recession was not as “bad” as the Great Depression and that contemporary Europeans remain skeptical of far-right parties, the great difference remains the discrepancy in scale between the two series of events, which is reflected in exactly how much ground both types of far-right parties gained during their respective time periods.Show less