This article seeks to explain the variation in the electoral success of far-right parties in Germany and Austria over the past several decades. It argues that the reaction of existing political parties, the tabloid press and civil society to right-wing populism has been different in the two states, and that these differences help explain the divergent development of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) and the German Republicans (REPs). The article explores how the strategies of mainstream political forces affect the coalition markets, party organizations, political recruitment and perceived legitimacy of right-wing populist parties. It concludes by surveying recent developments concerning the far right in Austria and eastern Germany.
Art, David (2004) `The Wild, Wild East: Why the DVU Doesn't Matter and Why the NPD Does', GermanPolitics and Society22: 122—33.
2.
Art, David (2006) The Politics of the Nazi Past in Germany and Austria . New York: Cambridge University Press.
3.
Bailer-Galanda, Brigitta and Wolfgang Neugebauer (1997) Haider und die Freiheitlichen in Österreich. Berlin: Elefanten Press.
4.
Bale, Tim (2003) `Cinderella and Her Ugly Sisters: The Mainstream and Extreme Right in Europe, Bipolarising Party Systems', West European Politics26: 67—90.
5.
Barker, David (1999) `Rushed Decisions: Political Talk Radio and Vote Choice, 1994—1996', Journal of Politics61: 527—39.
6.
Bennet, W. Lance (1980) Public Opinion in American Politics. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
7.
Beyme, Klaus von (1988) Right-Wing Extremism in Western Europe. London: Frank Cass.
8.
Betz, Hans-Georg (1994) Radical Right-Wing Populism in Western Europe. New York : St. Martin's Press.
9.
Carter, Elisabeth (2002) `Proportional Representation and the Fortunes of Right-Wing Extremist Parties', West European Politics25: 125—46.
10.
Cox, Gary (1997) Making Votes Count. New York : Cambridge University Press.
11.
Downs, William M. (2001) `Pariahs in their Midst: Belgian and Norwegian Parties React to Extremist Threats', West European Politics24: 23—42.
12.
Eatwell, Roger (2000) `The Rebirth of the “Extreme Right” in Western Europe?' Parliamentary Affairs53: 410—14.
13.
Eatwell, Roger and Cas Mudde (eds) (2004) Western Democracies and the New Extreme Right Challenge. London: Routledge.
14.
Falter, Jürgen and Markus Klein (1994) Wer wählt rechts?Munich: VerlagC. H. Beck.
15.
Gamson, William A. and Andre Modigliani (1987) `The Changing Culture of Affirmative Action', in Richard D. Braungart (ed.) Research in Political Sociology, vol. 3. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
16.
George, Alexander and Timothy McKeown (1985) `Case Studies and Theories of Organizational Decision Making', Advances in Information Processing in Organizations2: 21—58.
17.
Gibson, Rachel (2002) The Growth of Anti-Immigrant Parties in Western Europe. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen .
18.
Golder, Matt (2003a) `Explaining Variation in the Success of Extreme Right Parties in Western Europe', Comparative Political Studies36: 432—66.
19.
Golder, Matt (2003b) `Electoral Institutions, Unemployment and Extreme Right Parties: A Correction', British Journal of Political Science33: 525—31.
20.
Heinisch, Reinhard (2003) `Success in Opposition: Failure in Government: Explaining the Performance of Right-Wing Populist Parties in Public Office ', West European Politics26: 91—130.
21.
Ignazi, Piero (1992) `The Silent Counter-Revolution: Hypotheses on the Emergence of Extreme Right-Wing Parties in Western Europe', European Journal of Political Research22: 3—34.
22.
Iyengar, Shanto and Donald Kinder (1987) News that Matters. Chicago, IL: Chicago University Press.
23.
Jackman, Robert and Karen Volpert (1996) `Conditions Favouring Parties of the Extreme Right in Western Europe', British Journal of Political Science26: 501—21.
24.
Kestel, Laurent and Laurent Godmer (2004) `Institutional Inclusion and Exclusion of Extreme-Right Wing Parties in Austria, Germany and France', in Roger Eatwell and Cas Mudde (eds)Western Democracies and the New Extreme Right Challenge. London: Routledge.
25.
Kitschelt, Herbert in collaboration with Andrew J. McGann (1995) The Radical Right in Western Europe: A Comparative Analysis. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
26.
Knigge, Pia (1998) `The Ecological Correlates of Right-Wing Extremism in Western Europe', European Journal of Political Research34: 249—79.
27.
Lipset, Seymour Martin and Stein Rokkan (1967) `Cleavage Structures and Voter Alignments', in Seymour Martin Lipset and Stein Rokkan (eds) Party Systems and Voter Alignments. New York : Free Press.
28.
Lubbers, Marcel, Merove Gijsberts and Peer Scheepers ( 2002) `Extreme Right-Wing Voting in Western Europe', European Journal of Political Research41: 345—78.
29.
Luther, Kurt (2003a) `The Austrian Parliamentary Election of 2002', West European Politics26: 136—52.
30.
Luther, Kurt (2003b) `The FPÖ: From Populist Protest to Incumbency ', in Peter Merkl and Leonard Weinberg (eds) Right-Wing Extremism in the Twenty-first Century, pp. 193—218. London: Frank Cass.
31.
Meguid, Bonnie (2002) `Competition Between Unequals: The Role of Mainstream Party Strategy in Rising Party Success in Western Europe'. Unpublished dissertation . Harvard University.
32.
Minkenberg, Michael (2001) `The Radical Right in Public Office: Agenda-Setting and Policy Effects', West European Politics24: 1—21.
33.
Mudde, Cas (1996) `The War of Words: Defining the Extreme Right Party Family', West European Politics19: 225—48.
34.
Norris, Pippa (2005) Radical Right: Parties and Electoral Competition . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
35.
Panebianco, Angelo (1988) Political Parties: Organisation and Power. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
36.
Taggart, Paul (2000) Populism. Buckingham: Open University Press.
37.
Winkler, Jürgen and Siegfried Schuman (1998) `Radical Right Wing Parties in Contemporary Germany', in Hans-Georg Betz and Stefan Immerfall (eds) The New Politics of the Right. New York: St. Martin's.
38.
Zaller, John (1992) The Nature and Origin of Mass Opinion. New York: Cambridge University Press.
