Toward exclusion or inclusion? Acceptance and perception of national populist parties in Slovakia: the case study of the Kotlebists - Peoples party our Slovakia (SNS)

Abstract

The chapter analyses the potential for recognition of the nationalist populist party L'SNS as a legitimate political actor and its coalition potential. In doing so, the chapter is a valuable addition to our comparative knowledge on how mainstream parties in Central and Eastern Europe respond to the rise of (primarily) right-wing national populist challengers. Initially the mainstream parties attempted to exclude the far-right Kotlebists – People's Party Our Slovakia from any relevant participation in politics and in government. However, this seems to have been changing in recent years. Hence, the chapter also captures the dynamics of exclusion and inclusion, which is an added value compared to extant literature.