Reevaluating the Cost of Governing for Far-Right Parties

• In Event: Understanding Variation in Party Positions

Abstract

How does executive participation influence voter perceptions of their party? How do these perceptions translate into voter interactions with electoral and executive institutions? Populist, authoritarian, and nativist parties on the right have entered into coalition governments with increasing frequency since the early 1990’s. Once they join the executive, previous research reveals that far-right parties experience higher costs of governing - voter attrition following executive incumbency - than other parties. Theories explaining this cost in multiparty systems can best be summarized in two categories: policy deliverance-based theories and cooperation-based theories. Using a vignette survey experiment on a convenience sample of Facebook-using Italian voters, I demonstrate that far-right voters react differently to stimuli related to compromise and policy deliverance associated with coalition membership than other party supporters.

Author

• Harley Roe, Florida State University