Dynamics of Populist Parties in European Union Countries from 2013 to 2022

Description

The role of populist parties in Western democracies has increased in the 21st century. In autumn 2022, right-wing populist parties have gained significant representation in Latvia and Bulgaria, while in Sweden and Italy they are involved in the government formation process. Over the past decade, Europe has been hit by the migration crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic and the energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. There is a need to explore the impact of global events on the spread of populist parties in the national parliaments of the Member States of the European Union.The aim of the study is to examine the dynamics of the number of populist party MPs elected in the EU Member States between 2013 and 2022. . To this end, a pilot study was carried out using a contingency analysis method to study the results of the parliamentary elections in each EU Member State and to select right-wing and left-wing populist parties. The data for the pilot study was drawn from available information: national electoral authorities, open access resources such as Wikipedia and local and international media such as Politico.. The results of the pilot study show that the number of populist MEPs increased by 56%. Left-wing populist dynamics in national parliaments are fluctuating and have declined over the decade, while right-wing populists increased by 77% between 2013 and 2022.. Despite the fact that some countries have seen a decline in the spread of populist parties, such as Lithuania, Bulgaria and Denmark, most countries have seen a significant increase in right-wing populist parties, such as France, Italy and Spain. In 2015, it was driven by the rise of left-wing populist parties in Greece, Spain and, to a lesser extent, Portugal. In 2017 and 2018, with a surge of right-wing populists in Germany, Italy and Austria.

Period	29 Mar 2023
Event title	RSU Research week 2023: PLACES
Event type	Conference
Conference number	3
Organiser	Rīga Stradiņš University
Location	Rīga, LatviaShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International