Cohort: POLS 37° 

Topic of the thesis: Right-wing populism in Western Europe: just like the rest? An inquiry into the specificities of right-wing populism in strongly emancipative societies

Abstract: The rise of right-wing populist parties has been a defining feature of European domestic politics in the late 20th and early 21st century, and much research has been devoted to it. Nonetheless, the explanations for its success as a political movement and the reasons for why voters support it remain partially obscure, evidenced by the fact that various theories exist that attempt to solve this puzzle. The point of departure for my project is a series of gaps and contradictions within that literature. I hypothesize that the electorate of right-wing populist parties in Western European countries is different from that in other parts of Europe and probably also other regions of the world. Notably, it is more heterogeneous than many theories acknowledge, especially with regard to value patterns. My research project intends to make a vital contribution to our understanding of the right-wing populist electorate in a set of advanced democracies in Western Europe.

Research interests: European domestic politics; Cleavage systems; Electoral systems; Voting behavior; Origins of liberal democracy and its challengers; Political science; Political history; Political sociology.

Graduated from: Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium (BA); Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium (MA); Utrecht University, Netherlands (MA).

Degrees obtained: BA and MA in Political Science; MA in Political History.

E-mail address:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.