The presence of the radical right and its association with perceived group discrimination among immigrants, and their voting behaviour – June 13, 2025

Abstract

One of the major avenues for radical right-wing research is the focus on the consequences of the rise of these parties. One of the consequences has been hardly discussed in the literature: what is the impact on immigrants from the radical right’s representation? In this talk, Marcel Lubbers addresses an individual level approach to question the extent to which new immigrants to a country get to know the parliamentary representation of the radical right and whether it is associated to perceptions of group discrimination. Employing a four wave-panel study among Poles, Bulgarians, Turks and Spaniards to the Netherlands, it shows that immigrants are rather unfamiliar with the parties that are represented in parliament when they first enter a country, but their knowledge steadily increases over time. The study then tests whether getting to know that the radical right is represented in parliament is associated to an increase in the perception of group discrimination. Moreover, the talk will address the role of perceived group discrimination in migrants’ voting behaviour in the Netherlands. It focuses on the extent to which migrant voters themselves vote for the radical right and why, as well as why they vote for immigrant-interest parties that have become represented in Dutch parliament.