A Worldview Evolution in West European Politics

Abstract

This chapter develops the worldview evolution argument that is tested in this book. West European societies have experienced major economic and socio-cultural changes in the past several decades, with the rise of the post-industrial economy, deepening and widening of European integration, and growing multiculturalism and values liberalism. As a result, older political divisions centred on class and religion have given way to new conflicts over national community and identity. Authoritarianism is the key to understanding this evolution of voting behaviour. The changes of the past several decades have generated perceptions of threat to social cohesion among high authoritarians, who have responded by moving towards populist radical right (PRR) parties that promise to fight those threats. Low authoritarians welcome these changes because they perceive them as enhancing individual autonomy and diversity, so they move towards parties that support them. The result is an emerging political conflict organized around rival worldviews: high authoritarians support parties committed to preserving social cohesion and national community, while low authoritarians support parties committed to enhancing individual autonomy and diversity. Because established parties had organized around earlier class and religious divisions, they struggle to maintain voter support in this new era as newer left-liberal and radical right parties gain at their expense. The chapter concludes by describing hypotheses about the evolving relationship between authoritarianism and public support for the EU and voting behaviour, respectively.