Populism and Political Party Institutionalisation in the Three Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

Abstract

The three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania make for interesting comparative case studies in the rise of contemporary populism in Europe. All three countries share a similar modern history, democratic political system, level of economic development and are in the same western-oriented regional clubs (NATO, European Union, OSCE, European Council and, in the case of Estonia and Latvia, OECD, etc.). However, they do differ in the extent to which populism has played a role in their national politics. Populism has played a marginal role in Estonian politics, but has long been central to the Latvian party system and influential in Lithuanian politics. This article tackles two key issues in the study of populism. First, it focuses on political party institutionalisation as the key variable in explaining the differing impact of populist political parties across the Baltic states. It examines and explains the higher turnover of political party creation and destruction in Latvia and, to a lesser extent, Lithuania and argues that institutions—and particularly the laws that frame party organisations and participation in elections—create political opportunities for populist parties. The second part of the paper considers the different types of populist parties to have emerged in the Baltic states in recent decades. While previous studies of populism in the Baltic states (such as Auers and Kasekamp in J Contemp Eur Stud 17(2):241–254, 2009; Auers and Kasekamp, in: Wodak et al (eds) Right wing populism across/beyond Europe, Bloomsbury Academic Press, London 2013) have explicitly focused on Radical Right Populist parties, this article additionally identifies a number of parties in the region that are not explicitly radical right, but are certainly populist.