EU integration, regional development problems and the rise of the new radical right in Slovakia

Abstract

AbstractThe rise of the radical right in Slovakia is associated with stronger attitudes against the European integration and globalization. In this paper, the authors examine the role of the regional factors associated with EU membership in the voter support of the traditional and the new radical right political parties in Slovakia. The main finding is that while the support for the traditional radical right is mostly based on cultural and nationalistic factors, the support for the new radical right is associated with the regional economic factors such as the unemployment rate and wages. The electoral results of the radical right are more influenced by the unemployment rate just after joining the EU than by the situation during elections. Results also show that in the analysis of the impact of investments from the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) on voter support of the radical right, it is useful to distinguish between investments from the ERDF and CF and from the ESF.