Explaining the Electoral Failure of Extreme-Right Parties in Estonia and Latvia

Extreme-right political parties have achieved significant electoral success in Europe in recent years. This paper considers why this electoral success has not been replicated in contemporary Estonia and Latvia. The paper begins with a discussion of the necessary background conditions for the success of extreme-right movements, finding that they do largely exist in Estonia and Latvia. The paper then moves on to map the rising levels of extreme-right mobilisation among both titular and Russian-speaking parts of the population. We examine two hypotheses to explain the electoral failure of extreme-right parties: (1) The institutional hypothesis argues that the party and electoral laws check extreme-right party electoral success; (2) The competition hypothesis contends that political parties lack the membership and traditions that act as constraints on party behaviour. As a result, mainstream parties are free to adopt the radical rhetoric of extreme-right movements and parties.