In discussing elections across Europe, Cas Mudde, an associate professor in the School of Public and International Affairs, told the Associated Press that the popular perception of far-right influence in the region is mistaken.
“When you put it in a historical context, there isn’t actually that much change,” he said, adding that the far-right has declined in many countries just as it has gained during the past decade. “Parties come and go. The Greater Romania party had been a major party through the 1990s and then completely disappeared.”
The rise and fall of issues like local corruption, immigration and multiculturalism all impact far-right support, said Mudde, who is a faculty member in SPIA’s international affairs department.
