Movement Parties of the Far Right: Understanding Nativist Mobilization

Andrea Pirro - Università di Bologna
Pietro Castelli Gattinara - Université Libre de Bruxelles
Movement Parties of the Far Right: Understanding Nativist Mobilization

Abstract
In an era of traditional political party decline, we explore a new phase of nativist mobilization, in which street politics plays an increasingly important role. We delve into the hybrid and transitional nature of far-right movement parties, i.e. collective actors that contest elections like political parties and mobilize in the protest arena like social movements. Movement parties offer an exceptional object of study since they challenge the conventional distinction between institutional and non-institutional politics. Examining the 'production structure' of ten movement parties across nine European countries, we identify key factors that affect their engagement in protest activity. We address the internal organization, decision-making processes, and external mobilization of these collective actors using unique empirical material, including quantitative data on far-right protest mobilization spanning over a decade, protest network visualizations, and qualitative interviews with high-ranking officials.