RADICAL VOTERS IN RURAL AREAS OF SLOVAKIA AND THEIR ROLE IN THE RISE (AND FALL) OF THE ĽSNS PARTY

Studia Politica Slovaca, 2024, vol. 17, no. 1, p. 5-19
Language: English
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31577/SPS.2024-1.1

Abstract
The election of the far-right ĽSNS (People’s Party – Our Slovakia) to the Slovak National Council in 2016 was a turning point in domestic politics, and presented a particularly pronounced phenomenon of radical voting behavior. This paper builds upon field research conducted in several villages where the party achieved above-average election results in the 2016 parliamentary elections. Contrary to prevailing assumptions of a homogeneous ‘village fascism’, the study unveils the multifaceted nature of these communities by employing a mixed-methods approach that combines qualitative interviews and observations with quantitative questionnaires. A follow-up analysis of election results within these communities across successive parliamentary elections in 2020 and 2023 elucidates implications for ĽSNS’s, and its splinter party Republika’s, failure to re-enter the parliament in the snap elections of 2023. The study explores whether this decline can be attributed to shifts in voting patterns particularly towards the radicalized SMER-SD (Direction – Social Democracy) or SNS (Slovak National Party) that were able to form the new coalition. By shedding light on the dynamics between the social environment, political attitudes, and electoral outcomes in these villages, this paper aims to contribute to a deeper and more nuanced comprehension of voting behavior in rural Slovakia.

Keywords
right-wing extremism, ĽSNS, rural Slovakia, field research, parliamentary elections

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