Political economy of populism in Europe

This PhD thesis examines how economic insecurity, cultural threat, and climate skepticism shape support for populist parties across European societies. Through three interconnected studies, it revisits established theories of populist voting and explores emerging political divides.

The first study reconsiders the economic and cultural roots of populism by introducing the welfare state as a moderating factor. While welfare generosity can mitigate economic grievances, it may simultaneously intensify hostility toward perceived outsiders such as immigrants. Both mechanisms are found to be at play, though not always in the expected ways. The second study focuses on an often-overlooked group: immigrants themselves. It shows that although immigrants tend to be more supportive of immigration, experiences of economic insecurity and cultural distance from other immigrant groups can also foster anti-immigrant attitudes, much like among non-immigrants. The third study investigates climate skepticism as a new axis of political conflict. While skepticism is associated with populist support, it remains secondary to more established sources of grievance that populists capitalize on.

Together, these studies illustrate how economic and cultural dynamics continue to underpin populist politics, while highlighting how emerging issues such as climate change are becoming incorporated into broader patterns of political 

Proefschrift: https://hdl.handle.net/11370/8a25dd91-2e86-4ca9-b42d-68af709529ed