The Surprising Non-Impact of Radical Right-Wing Populist Party Representation on Public Tolerance of Minorities

Abstract

The presence of radical right-wing populist (RRP) parties presents a challenge to liberal democracies, which are inclined to allow the representation of parties that reject their principles of diversity and inclusiveness. Addressing this concern, we use the World Values Survey and other data sources to demonstrate that the representation of RRP parties in parliament, in fact, has no discernible effect on individual levels of intolerance. The anti-outgroup messages of RRP parties are mitigated by the tolerance-boosting effect of the information diversity present in the multiparty systems that allow for their representation. In addition, even those predisposed to be intolerant of outgroups are unaffected by the representation of such parties, as the attitudes of these individuals are least likely to be shaped by new information. Bans on political parties that espouse intolerance, often considered or implemented by modern democracies, are unlikely to achieve their desired effect.