Populist Radical Right Parties

Essay questions – 2,700 words without references

1. What are the main factors explaining the success of populist radical right parties in Central-Eastern Europe? Are there significant differences with Western Europe?
2. Why are populist radical right parties more focused on socio-cultural factors than economic policies?
3. Why do populist radical right parties tend to attract more support from working class voters?
4. ‘Populist radical right parties are more likely to succeed in countries adopting a proportional voting system’. Discuss this statement.
5. Is leadership more or less important than party organisation and ideology in determining the success of a populist radical right parties? Justify your answer.
6. Why do populist radical right parties often prefer to rely on social media rather than traditional/mainstream media?
7. How do mainstream parties react to the success of populist radical right parties? Which strategies are more likely to succeed?
8. Which policies are more likely to be affected by the success of populist radical right parties? Why?
9. Why do populist radical right parties tend to attract more support from male voters?

Tips for writing a good essay

A good essay will always include:

• An introduction which briefly lays out the goal of the essay, the argument and how the rest of the essay is structured.
• Clearly laid out arguments, which are supported by references to the literature and empirical facts. The arguments may be divided into headings and section, although this is not strictly necessary.
• A good structure which makes these arguments easy to follow
• Uses theoretical concepts in the answer.
• Critical reflection on the readings and a clear articulation of the author’s position.
• A bibliography with a good number of academic sources. As a guidance, an essay should have a minimum of 10 academic sources.
• A concluding section in which you summarize the points made in the essay.
• A range of expression and appropriate style of language

The following mistakes are among the most common and will be penalised:

1. Plagiarism;
2. Inadequate referencing and/or bibliography;
3. Irrelevance;
4. Absence of evidence to support judgements;
5. No clear structure;
6. No Introduction/Conclusion
7. Poor command of English.

Marking criteria

• First (70% and above): The essay has a clear structure, the arguments are logical, easy to follow, and always supported by facts and/or references to the literature. The essay shows engagement with and an excellent knowledge of the literature well beyond the reading list. The essay includes ample critical reflection on the literature, and the author’s own position and critical arguments are clearly brought out and visible. There are no typos and the usage of English is perfect.
• Upper Second (60-69%): The essay has a clear structure, the arguments are logical, and in most cases supported by facts and/or references to the literature. The essay shows engagement with and a good knowledge of the literature included in the reading list and somewhat beyond. The essay includes some critical reflection on the literature, and the author’s own position and critical arguments can be identified. There are no typos and the usage of English is generally good.
• Lower Second (50-59%): The essay has a structure, but it is at times difficult to follow. Most arguments are logical, but not all of them are supported by facts and/or references to the literature. The essay shows some engagement with the literature included in the reading list, but little detailed knowledge beyond that. The essay includes very little critical reflection on the literature, and the author’s own position and critical arguments are not visible. The usage of English is not perfect, and there are some misprints.
• Third (40-49%): The essay has no clear structure, making it difficult to follow, but does include some valid arguments. Some arguments include factual errors. Arguments are rarely supported by facts and/or references to the literature. Some material is irrelevant to the question. The essay shows little engagement with the literature beyond the lectures and key readings, and the bibliography is mostly made up of non-academic sources. The essay includes no critical reflection on the literature, and the author’s own position and critical arguments are not visible. There is a significant number of editing mistakes.
• Fail (39% and below): The essay has no clear structure. Most of the arguments are not logical, difficult to understand, or contain factual errors. Arguments are not supported by facts and/or references to the literature. Much of the essay is irrelevant to the topic/title/goal of the essay. The essay shows no engagement with the literature beyond the lectures and key texts, and the bibliography is almost exclusively made up of non-academic sources. The essay includes no critical reflection on the literature, and the author’s own position and critical arguments are not visible. There is a significant number of misprints and editing issues.