While a link has been established between economic inequality and an increase in support for the far-left or the far-right, both through separate mechanisms, no link has been established between...Show moreWhile a link has been established between economic inequality and an increase in support for the far-left or the far-right, both through separate mechanisms, no link has been established between the speed at which wage stagnation is occurring, and an increase in support for extremist parties. This paper seeks to establish this link, through the effect of wage stagnation on economic inequality, and the effect of economic inequality on either support for the far-left or the far-right.Show less
While we can find evidence in the literature of a shift in the discourse of far-right Eurosceptic parties after the 2005 referendum in France and the Netherlands, its effects on the discourse of...Show moreWhile we can find evidence in the literature of a shift in the discourse of far-right Eurosceptic parties after the 2005 referendum in France and the Netherlands, its effects on the discourse of the far-left are largely understudied. This thesis then strives to investigate the impact of the failed Dutch and French referendums on far-left Euroscepticism, and figure out if it can partly explain its rise before the 2008 economic crisis. In the end, we find that far-left Eurosceptic parties have indeed shifted their discourse post-2005, and that the campaign and result of the referendum can account for a part of this shift.Show less