Doomed to Failure? UKIP and the Organisational Challenges Facing Right-Wing Populist Anti-Political Establishment Parties

2008/10/03 by Amir Abedi, Thomas Lundberg · 12 citations
Social Sciences · #Populism, Right-Wing Movements #Electoral Systems and Political Participation #Political and Economic history of UK and US #Appeal #Politics #Mainstream #Independence (probability theory) #Political economy #Political science #Sacrifice #Government (linguistics) #Public administration #Sociology #Law

paper · doi:10.1093/pa/gsn036

openalex publication_date 2008/10/03 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02

Abstract

Using the UK Independence Party, we examine the effects of sudden electoral success on an Anti-Political Establishment (APE) party. The pressures of aspiring to government necessitate organisational structures resembling those of mainstream parties, while this aspiration challenges APE parties because they differ not just in terms of their policy profiles, but also in their more ‘unorthodox’ organisational make-up, inextricably linked to their electoral appeal. Robert Kilroy-Silk wanted to emphasise office-seeking goals while most members wanted the party to remain true to its APE status and not sacrifice its populist nature. This inevitably resulted in internal party conflict.

Cited by

• Rivalry on the right: The Conservatives, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and the EU issue
• Explaining Support for the UK Independence Party at the 2009 European Parliament Elections
• Modelling the dynamics of support for a right-wing populist party: the case of UKIP
• ‘This loopy idea’ an analysis of UKIP’s social media discourse in relation to rurality and climate change
• Strategic Eurosceptics and polite xenophobes: Support for the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) in the 2009 European Parliament elections
• The UK Independence Party, populism and the British news media: Competition, collaboration or containment?
• The UK Independence Party: Understanding a Niche Party's Strategy, Candidates and Supporters
• Reworking the Eurosceptic and Conservative Traditions into a Populist Narrative: UKIP's Winning Formula?
• Shades of purple: A discursive analysis of mainstream political party responses to UKIP
• An Analysis of George Galloway's Oratorical and Rhetorical Impact
• Opposition to the Greenham Women's Peace Camps in 1980s Britain: RAGE Against the 'Obscene'
• UK Independence Party [wikipedia]

Related

• Defeat of the People's Army? The 2015 British general election and the UK Independence Party (UKIP)
• The dilemmas of a single‐issue party – The UK Independence Party
• Modelling the dynamics of support for a right-wing populist party: the case of UKIP
• Reworking the Eurosceptic and Conservative Traditions into a Populist Narrative: UKIP's Winning Formula?
• The UK Independence Party: Understanding a Niche Party's Strategy, Candidates and Supporters