2024/08/21 by Ian P. McManus, Michelle Falkenbach · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Populism, Right-Wing Movements #Social Policy and Reform Studies #Electoral Systems and Political Participation
paper · doi:10.1080/23745118.2024.2392166
openalex publication_date 2024/08/21 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/15
Social Democratic parties have been in crisis across Europe in recent decades. The once dominant party family has struggled to adapt to the structural challenges of post-industrialization, changes in its core constituency, and increased political competition from alternative parties. This article analyzes the welfare chauvinist shift embraced by some Social Democratic parties to assess its viability as an electoral strategy in response to this changing political landscape and far-right party challenges. The article analyzes individual-level data from 26 European countries from successive European Voter Survey rounds for 2014 and 2019. This article tests the relationship between voter positions on government intervention, redistribution, and immigration and support for Social Democratic parties. Issue salience data is also examined to identify the importance granted by the public to different concerns over time. Despite claims that welfare chauvinist approaches represent a path forward for Social Democrats, this research finds that this strategy is not a broad winning formula. Rather there are incentives for Social Democrats to return to their egalitarian and progressive roots on key socioeconomic and sociocultural issues.