PIR-30119 - Module Specification
School of Social Sciences
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2024/25

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2024/25

Right-wing extremist parties have experienced success in elections in many countries in Western Europe over recent years. This phenomenon has attracted widespread attention, both in the media and in academic circles, sparking many crucial questions: why have these parties become electorally successful? What exactly do they stand for? What kind of people vote for them? Why do people vote for them? What impact are they having? Should we be worried about their rise? And what can we, or mainstream political parties, do to counter their rise?
This module aims to examine all these questions. Rather than adopting a country-by-country approach it follows a thematic structure. It begins by exploring the different theories and debates that seek to explain why right-wing extremist parties have emerged in Western Europe in the contemporary period. It then turns its attention to the concept of right-wing extremism and investigates what characteristics a party might have if we are to label it an `extreme right¿ party and what makes an extreme right party different from other types of party. Next the module examines a whole host of different right-wing extremist parties across Western Europe, delving into their ideologies and policies, and exploring who votes for them and why. In a final section the module investigates what impact parties of the extreme right have had on public opinion, on other political parties, on public policy, and on democracy more widely, and what mainstream parties and civil society have done to try to counter their rise and influence.

This module aims to:
- introduce students to the theoretical perspectives, empirical approaches and key bodies of literature to analysing right-wing extremism and right-wing extremist parties and voters
- enhance critical skills needed to analyse complex theories and concepts related to the study of right-wing extremism, to evaluate how we best define these concepts, and to apply these definitions to real life case studies
- cultivate skills needed to effectively engage in empirical and comparative research in the field of political ideologies, party politics and psephology
- enhance skills needed to effectively assess and evaluate the impact of contemporary right-wing extremism on public debate, party competition and policy-making, and to relate the academic study of right-wing extremism to questions of public and political concern
- enhance communication skills (both oral and written) and experience of working in a team

Intended Learning Outcomes

critically analyse and evaluate complex theories and concepts related to the study of right-wing extremism and right-wing extremist parties and voters: 1,2
identify the socio-demographic characteristics of extreme right party voters and their motivations, and on the basis of this empirical investigation, critically analyse and evaluate theories of extreme right voting behaviour: 1,2
identify and assess the reasons that explain why some right-wing extremist parties have been electorally more successful than others: 1,2
assess the impact of right-wing extremism on public debate, policy-making and party competition across Western Europe and relate the academic study of right-wing extremism to questions of public and political concern: 1,2
apply definitions and classifications of right-wing extremism to case studies so as to compare and contrast the ideologies right-wing extremist parties across Western Europe: 1,2

Study hours

Active learning hours:
Seminars: 10x 2-hour classes (20 hours)
Independent study hours:
Preparation for seminars: 40 hours
Preparation for group oral presentation: 30 hours
Preparation for and writing of essay: 60 hours

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment