BOOK PRESENTATION: Movement Parties of the Far-Right: Understanding Nativist Mobilization
hosted by Professor
Nina Hall
Andrea L. P. Pirro
Associate Professor of Political Science , University of Bologna
In an era of traditional political party decline, this book explores a new phase of nativist mobilization, in which street politics plays an increasingly important role. Pietro Castelli Gattinara and Andrea Pirro 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, the authors identify key factors that affect their engagement in protest activity. They address the organizational capacity, 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.
The book provides fresh insights into how the far right spreads its influence and relates to non-institutional politics, making it essential reading for anyone concerned about the way in which nativist collective actors transform society from the ground up. A compelling study looking at the relationship between electoral politics and grassroots activism, Movement Parties of the Far Right illuminates the complex organizational and strategic choices underlying far-right mobilization.
ANDREA PIRRO
Andrea Pirro is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Bologna. He serves as editor of the journal
East European Politics and editor of the book series
Routledge Studies in Extremism & Democracy. Between 2014 and 2022, he chaired the Steering Committee of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) Standing Group on ‘Extremism & Democracy'. He is also the founder and director of the ECPR Summer School on ‘Concepts and Methods for Research on Far-Right Politics'.
His research interests cover the broad areas of comparative politics and political sociology, with a particular focus on extremism, radicalism, populism, and democracy; Euroscepticism; political parties and party systems; social movements and political participation; and research design and methodology in the social sciences.
