HSE Seminar on Political Economy: Maria Snegovaya* (Columbia University) about the Left Parties Choices and the Emergence of the Radical Right

After the collapse of the Communist system left parties found themselves in a difficult situation. Some of them preferred to adapt to the reality and changed radical views to more democratic ones, while others remained faithful to their ideology. According to research, the last managed to retain support of workers and lower middle class. However, those left parties that had become more democratic lost their traditional constituency, most of which turned to radical right parties. On the presentation of the article «The Left Parties Choices and The Emergence of The Radical Right» the postgraduate student of Columbia University Maria Snegovaya explained why that happened.

Topic: "The Left Parties Choices and The Emergence of The Radical Right"

Abstract:
I look at the choices made by the ex-Communist left parties following the collapse of the Communist system in the Vyshegard-4 countries. By focusing on the cases of Hungary and Czech Republic I show that where the the left parties chose to move to the center of the political spectrum (to become more of a typical western Social democratic party), as in Hungary, the left party discredited itself in the eyes of its traditional constituency (workers, lower middle class), a constituency which was ultimately incorporated by the radical right parties. Hence in such countries the radical  right parties are strong. In the countries where the ex-Communist party preserved their more traditional radical left agenda, as in Czech Republic, it was partly able to retain its traditional workers constituency and in such countries the radical right is weak. I test my theory on the series of experimental and regular surveys within the two countries. On the cross-countries level I show that the radical  right tends to be more electorally successful in countries where it is able to embrace the economic redistributionist agenda due to the absence of a strong radical left competitor. 

My argument contributes to the understanding of the dynamics of political systems, and the rise of the radical  right parties in Europe.

the joint seminar of Higher School of Economics on political economy, International Center for the Study of Institutions and Development (ICSID) and NES Center for the Study of Diversity and Social Interaction was held April 25.

* (Maria Snegovaya) Мария Снеговая включена Минюстом в список физлиц, выполняющих функции иностранного агента.