Understanding unlikely alliances in Europe: Why ethno-religious minorities support populist radical right parties

Abstract

This article examines support for populist radical right (PRR) parties among people with ethno-religious minority backgrounds, who tend to be vilified by PRR. We explore a theoretical framework that underscores mechanisms that might be at play, including interplays between general (e.g. anti-immigration attitudes) and minority-specific mechanisms (e.g. discrimination). Drawing on 10 rounds of European Social Survey data (2004–2023), this study addresses (1) which ethno-religious minorities are more likely to support the PRR and (2) what explains their PRR voting. Our analyses show that minorities who are racialised (i.e. Muslims, people with roots in Muslim-majority and Global South countries) are less likely to vote for PRR parties than others. Second, although general explanations for PRR voting such as Euroscepticism, authoritarianism and anti-immigrant sentiments also hold for ethno-religious minorities, other socio-demographic indicators (i.e. education, employment status, political and social trust) show no similar effects among ethno-religious minorities. These findings reveal the need for a minority-specific lens when studying who among ethno-religious minorities vote for PRR and why.