Perceived Exclusionary Disadvantages and Populist Attitudes: Evidence from Comparative and Longitudinal Survey Data in Six European Countries

Abstract

Recent ethnographic research has argued that subjective impressions of disadvantage are important to explain support for radical populist parties. Yet, the question of how such perceived disadvantages relate to populist attitudes as an expression of populist ideas has received less attention. In this regard, this study sets out to investigate the relationship between subjective group relative deprivation and populist attitudes. I argue that subjective group relative deprivation is positively related to populist attitudes. Going beyond previous research, I account for the possibility that populist attitudes also positively affect feelings of disadvantage, resulting in a vicious circle of disadvantage and populism. Results from three original cross-sectional surveys in six European countries show that subjective group relative deprivation is positively related to populist attitudes. More importantly, analyses of original panel data show that fully understanding the relationship between populism and disadvantage requires taking both directions of causality into account.