Why France and Not Germany? a Case Study of the Far-Right
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WHY FRANCE AND NOT GERMANY? A CASE STUDY OF THE FAR-RIGHT Jonathan Miguel Buechner A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Political Science, Concentration European Governance. Chapel Hill 2019 Approved by: Javier Astudillo Liesbet Hooghe Gary Marks John Stephens © 2019 Jonathan Miguel Buechner ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Jonathan Miguel Buechner: Why France and not Germany? A case study of the far-right (Under the direction of Gary Marks and Javier Astudillo) The conflicts structuring European society since the 1980s such as identity and immigration have affected countries in a parallel manner in response to globalization, known as the emerging transnational cleavage. However, why do far-right parties find great success in some countries related to this new cleavage and limited or no success in similar countries? Examining France and Germany, this comparative study deservedly draws national characteristics like history and culture to center-stage. By re-evaluating extant literature with this new perspective, this research has found that while the transnational cleavage was present in both countries, Germany was hindered by a strong institutional resistance to National Socialism, rife with internal party disputes, and a difficult federal structure for far-right parties to find success past the local level. Meanwhile France was successful in constructing a winning ideology with stable party leadership resulting in permanent institutionalization. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to thank Prof. Marks and Prof. Astudillo for their guidance and direction throughout the writing process. Their feedback and helpfulness were an integral part of this research and they consistently allowed this paper to be my own work, but steered me in the right direction whenever necessary. I must also express gratitude towards Sarah Hutchison and Katie Lindner who have been an indispensable part of my UNC experience, challenged me to grow and been there every step of the way. I would also like to thank all the wonderful professors who are part of the TAM program whose high-quality teaching has enriched my experience. Finally, I must express profound gratitude for my parents, UNC and UPF friends, and especially Patric for providing me with unfailing support and continuous encouragement throughout my years of study and throughout the thesis writing process. This accomplishment would not have been possible without them. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................................... vii Theory/Background- Literature Review ......................................................................................... 4 Why France and Germany? ............................................................................................................ 9 Social Framework Conditions ....................................................................................................... 13 The 2008 Eurocrisis and 2015 Refugee Crisis ................................................................. 18 Electoral Systems and Gains ......................................................................................................... 20 Party Leadership and Organization ............................................................................................... 27 Discussion ..................................................................................................................................... 31 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 34 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 36 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Comparative aspects of case countries ........................................................................... 13 Table 2: Electoral gains of far-right in France 1973 – 2019 (percentage of votes cast) ............... 23 Table 3: Electoral gains of far-right in Germany 1965 – 2019 (percentage of votes cast) ........... 27 vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AfD Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany) ALFA Allianz für Fortschritt und Aufbruch (Alliance for Progress and Change) CDU Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands (Christian Democratic Union of Germany) CSU Christlich-Soziale Union in Bayern (Christian Social Union in Bavaria) DVU Deutsche Volksunion (German People’s Union) EU European Union FPD Freie Demokratische Partei (Free Democratic Party) FPÖ Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (Freedom Party of Austria) LPF Lijst Pim Fortuyn (Pim Fortuyn List) NPD Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands (National Democratic Party of Germany) OAS Organisation Armée Secrète (Secret Armed Organization) REP Die Republikaner (The Republicans) RN Rassemblement National (National Rally) SVP Schweizerische Volkspartei (Swiss People’s Party) vii INTRODUCTION Under what conditions do far-right parties emerge? This question is the focus of much ongoing academic research, especially since the emergence of ‘post-industrial’ far-right parties in the mid-1970s and beyond. Across Europe, these parties have experienced electoral success in the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Austria to name a few prominent cases. In general terms, far- right parties can be characterized by “an emphasis of natural community and hostility towards foreigners…a distrust for democratic individual representation…a call for unbounded authority and the recasting of a strong state” (Ignazi 2003, 18). These common features help to provide a base through which to analyze the similarities and differences between countries in which these kinds of parties emerge or attempt to emerge. Concurrent with the ‘third-wave’ of right-wing extremism during the 1970s and 1980s, the conflicts of the post-industrial society which include multiculturalism, identity, globalization and supranationalism have become prevalent matters of political contestation (Ignazi 2003, 20). Far-right parties fuel political discourse with Islamophobia, xenophobia, and outright racism in a capacity that mainstream parties are unable to, making their position on these issues relevant for established parties if they are to compete in the political landscape (Rippeyoung 2007, 381; Meyer and Rosenberger 2015, 2). The increasing success of far-right parties has sparked debate about the future stability of Western European democracies as well as issues related to multiculturalism and the integration of different immigrant communities which makes it a timely research topic. 1 Cleavage theory, developed by Lipset and Rokkan in 1967, provides a frame of reference to understand political contestation and how parties react to societal cleavages or conflicts that emerged from industrial revolutions in Europe. The theory is useful in understanding not only how these cleavages came to form, but also how challenger parties, such as the far-right, stake their claim in the existing political structure in response to new lines of conflict regarding post- material values. In recent years, political scientists have observed the emergence of a new transnational cleavage based largely on cultural issues that has shaped competition between parties in the 21st century. Far-right parties fit into this new line of conflict by taking hold of this transnational cleavage and challenging existing parties on these cultural issues. However, the emergence and subsequent success of far-right parties and their ability to compete along this new cleavage varies greatly across Europe. This begs the question – if European countries in the 1970s were experiencing the same social phenomena with similar transformations in the dimensions structuring the political space, why do these parties become firmly rooted in the political landscape in some countries while they have limited success in others? The far-right party family is complex and research has been devoted to not only classifying where these parties stand on issues, but understanding their bases of support and how they fit into the existing political structure of contestation. In order to address how these parties came to be successful, a large portion of previous research has focused on national case studies or large cross-national comparisons. In looking at various countries at once, important country- specific factors such as history or culture are not given the attention they deserve, which limits the results. While worthwhile for extracting general conclusions, these national case studies emphasize important factors in one particular context but report the same factors as unimportant 2 in others (Norris 2005, 9). In order to overcome these shortcomings, the cases focus on France and Germany. While France has been the prototype for the far-right in Europe since the 1980s, Germany has not had a successful contender until 2017. Thus, my research will fill a gap in the literature by focusing on a controlled systematic comparative analysis of two case countries. This narrow focus will illuminate the complexities of the far-right party family and shed insight into the history of these parties in both countries as well as the differences