Carl Fredrik Wergeland
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Should the Norwegian Progress Party be considered as members of the Populist Radical Right Party Family? A Qualitative Analysis of the Authoritarian, Nativist and Populist Elements in the Norwegian Progress Party Carl Fredrik Wergeland Master thesis Spring 2021 Department of comparative politics University of Bergen Abstract This thesis started with a simple question that teased my interest, does Norway have a populist radical right party? Most European countries do, and the literature was unclear as to whether the Norwegian Progress Party (FrP) should be considered members of this party family. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to clear the air with regards to the FrP and investigate whether this party is in fact a populist radical right party, based on the criterions of membership laid out by Mudde (2007), identified as the ideological features of authoritarianism, nativism and populism. I have chosen the methodological approach of qualitative content analysis to analyze whether the FrP should be considered a populist radical right party. I have analyzed official party documents, meaning the party’s website and their election manifestos, arguing that these documents constitute the core ideological features of this party. What I have found, and will argue throughout this thesis, is that the official party literature of the FrP contains enough evidence of the core ideological features of the Populist Radical Right to include the party in this party family. KEY WORDS: AUTHORITARIANISM, THE NORWEGIAN PROGRESS PARTY, NATIVISM, POPULIST RADICAL RIGHT, POPULISM. 2 Acknowledgements This thesis marks the end of five years spent as a student at the University in Bergen. During these five years I have learnt a lot, met countless new friends and even got to spend a semester abroad. These five years have been fantastic, both in terms of the things that I have learned academically, but also with regards to all the great people I have gotten to know. There are several people who needs to be thanked. First and foremost, I want to thank all of my fellow students that I have gotten to know during these five years. A big thank you also goes to my supervisor Jonas Linde, for insightful advice and feedback during the writing of this thesis. Friends and family also deserve their share of thanks. Finally, to Madelén, without you, I would not be where I am today. Bergen, June 2021. Carl Fredrik Wergeland 3 Table of Contents Chapter 1 - Introduction ......................................................................................................... 6 Thesis outline ......................................................................................................................................7 Chapter 2 - The emergence of the Populist Radical Right – an overview .......................... 8 A new party family emerges ...............................................................................................................8 Differentiating between the extreme right and the radical right .........................................................8 The three waves of far right success .................................................................................................10 Explanations for the electoral success of far right parties .................................................................12 Demand-side explanations ................................................................................................................13 Supply-side explanations ...................................................................................................................15 How to conceptualize the populist radical right party family ...........................................................18 Chapter 3 - Defining and operationalizing the Populist Radical Right Party.................. 23 Authoritarianism ................................................................................................................................23 Operationalizing authoritarianism .....................................................................................................26 Authoritarian policy initiatives ..........................................................................................................28 Authoritarian moral values ................................................................................................................29 Nativism ............................................................................................................................................29 Nativism and its exclusionary nature ................................................................................................30 The new master frame of the far right ...............................................................................................30 The development and employment of welfare chauvinism...............................................................32 Operationalizing nativism .................................................................................................................33 Exclusionary ethno-pluralism............................................................................................................33 Welfare chauvinism ...........................................................................................................................34 Populism ............................................................................................................................................35 The thin ideology of populism ..........................................................................................................36 Populism as a rhetorical tool and leadership style ............................................................................39 Operationalizing populism ................................................................................................................41 Democracy reforms ...........................................................................................................................42 Elite criticism ....................................................................................................................................43 Chapter 4 - Methodological approach and data ................................................................. 44 Qualitative Content Analysis.............................................................................................................44 Coding frame .....................................................................................................................................46 Data material .....................................................................................................................................51 Chapter 5 - The history of the Norwegian Progress Party................................................. 55 The genesis of the FrP (the populist roots of the FrP).......................................................................55 The Electoral breakthrough of the FrP ..............................................................................................57 4 The setbacks of the late seventies......................................................................................................58 From a disorganization to organization – Carl I. Hagen takes control ..............................................60 The inclusion of anti-immigration policies in the FrP ......................................................................61 The FrP sharpens their stance on immigration ..................................................................................65 Internal unrest – liberals vs far right actors .......................................................................................67 Dolkesjø – A liberal exodus ..............................................................................................................68 2001 – the national conservatives are kicked out ..............................................................................69 Jensen leads the FrP into government ...............................................................................................72 Chapter 6 - An analysis of the authoritarian, nativist, and populist elements in the Norwegian Progress Party .................................................................................................... 74 The Authoritarianism of the FrP .......................................................................................................74 Authoritarian policy initiatives in the FrP .........................................................................................74 The Moral Values of the FrP .............................................................................................................80 Analysis of the nativist features in the FrP........................................................................................81 Welfare chauvinism and the FrP .......................................................................................................82 Populism and the FrP ........................................................................................................................86 The Democracy reforms of FrP .........................................................................................................86 The Party for the Common Man........................................................................................................89 Chapter 7 - Discussion and concluding remarks