| Abstrakt: |
Scholars frequently hypothesize that economic inequality is a significant contributing factor in recent support for radical-right politics in Europe and the United States. Yet they rarely test this relationship empirically or investigate its potential pathways. This study argues that inequality contributes to radical-right support by promoting ethno-nationalism, an individual attitude congruent with radical-right claims-making. Income inequality began rising rapidly in wealthy democracies prior to the latest wave of radical parties, and it promotes exclusionary attitudes in numerous domains. Ethno-nationalism--which posits ascribed traits, like ancestry and race, as criteria for legitimate national membership--is an exclusionary political attitude known to predict radical-right support. Previous research, however, has not directly examined the relationship between these phenomena. Survey data from 33 industrialized countries are used to estimate the effect of household income inequality on the prevalence of ethno-nationalism. Results indicate that countries with higher average levels of income inequality since the 1990s typically feature greater levels of ethno-nationalism. However, contrary to expectations, countries that have seen growth in inequality in this period have generally seen simultaneous declines in ethno-nationalism, and conversely, countries in which inequality has declined have experienced increases in ethno-nationalism. These findings elaborate the political consequences of income inequality and highlight the role of nationalism in contemporary politics. Findings also demonstrate the need to further conceptualize how various causes of income inequality disparately influence forms of social solidarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
