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Voting for Right-Wing Populist parties : an explanatory study of right-wing populist voting by the example of the United Kingdom Independence Party

Treis, Yannick (2015) Voting for Right-Wing Populist parties : an explanatory study of right-wing populist voting by the example of the United Kingdom Independence Party.

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Abstract:This thesis focuses on the question why people vote for right-wing populist parties, in the light of the rising electoral success of right-wing populist parties in Europe. In order to find answers to this question in a limited frame, the focus is on the voters of the United Kingdom Independence Party in the United Kingdom. The “losers of modernization theory” is applied to build a theoretical foundation for an approach to explain UKIP voting in the United Kingdom. A special focus is put on the different forms of deprivation, which are part of the losers of modernization theory and supply the basis for the core hypotheses as well as for the independent variables. The necessary data is obtained from the British Election Study 2014-2017, which interviewed over 30,000 British citizens. By analyzing each independent variable with the help of cross tabulations and chi-square tests and ultimately employing a multivariate analysis, in the form of a logistical regression, it is found that the losers of modernization theory does explain UKIP voting to some extent. However, its explaining power is rather small and it is assumed that other factors have a higher impact on UKIP voting. The focus on euroscepticism or the impact of protest voters may be more influencing factors, as other studies suggest. The thesis draws the final conclusion that the losers of modernization theory cannot explain voting for right-wing populist parties solely and that there are most likely further factors, depending on the society or country of interest.
Item Type:Essay (Bachelor)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:89 political science
Programme:Management Society and Technology BSc (56654)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/67791
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