Right Response: Understanding and Countering Populist Extremism in Europe

Populist extremist parties (PEPs) present one of the most pressing challenges to European democracies. These parties share two core features: they fiercely oppose immigration and rising ethnic and cultural diversity; and they pursue a populist ‘anti-establishment’ strategy that attacks mainstream parties and is ambivalent if not hostile towards liberal representative democracy. These parties and their supporters remain poorly understood. What drives some citizens to abandon the mainstream in favour of populist extremists? What message are these parties offering, and how receptive are European electorates to this message? How, if at all, can mainstream parties counter the rise of PEPs? This report examines what is causing citizens across Europe to shift behind populist extremists, and how mainstream elites might respond to this challenge. It puts popular stereotypes to one side and adopts an objective and evidence-based approach to investigate the characteristics and concerns of PEP supporters, the message and the wider potential of populist extremism, and possible response strategies.