What's Behind The Emergence Of The Far Right In Irish politics?

Kevin Cunningham, Technological University Dublin

Updated / Thursday, 8 Jul 2021 08:21

Abstract

The emergence of the far-right, or more accurately the 'radical right', is a new phenomenon in Irish politics. So where did they come from? The rise of the radical right reflects a 40 year trend in politics across Europe. For decades, politics in almost all countries was dominated by centre-right and centre-left parties. These political parties reflected the class systems of industrialised economies where a homogenous group of unskilled and semi-skilled working-class voters aligned with their chief economic interests.