United in Diversity

Abstract

While the rise of European far-right raises many questions, this article aims to contribute to the debate by looking at their voting behaviour in the European Parliament between 2009 and 2014. Although some of the most prominent European far-right parties try to emphasize their differences, this article shows how united they actually are on salient issues. This can be seen from their voting cohesion on economic and monetary affairs and immigration, but also their party programs, election manifestos, parliamentary speeches, statements and media coverage. The article concludes that far-right parties have similar voting preferences on the most salient issues, while existing deviations are mostly caused by country-specific reasons.

Keywords

• European far-right parties
• European parliament
• party cohesion
• party politics
• voting behaviour