This book is the first to provide a systematic theoretical framework and in-depth empirical research on the interaction between discursive influence, party competition and the electoral fortune of radical right parties in Central and Eastern Europe. It argues that in order to fully explain the impact of mainstream party strategies in this regard, it is vital to widen the analysis beyond competition over issues themselves, and towards their various legitimizing narratives and frame ownership. Up-to-date debates over policies of collective identity (minority, morality and nationalizing politics) in Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia serve as best cases to observe these under-researched phenomena. The analytical model is evaluated comparatively using original, primary data combined with election studies and expert surveys.

Bartek Pytlas received his doctoral degree in Comparative Political Science from European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder). He is currently Lecturer at the Geschwister Scholl Institute of Political Science, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. His research interests include the electoral performance of radical right parties, comparative party competition, as well as transformation of societies and party systems in Europe.

1. The Puzzle of Radical Right Electoral Fortune in Central and Eastern Europe: Introductory Remarks 2. The Radical Right and Their Mainstream Competitors in Central and Eastern Europe 3. Contest over Meaning: Theoretical Framework and Narrative Interaction Model of Radical Right Electoral Fortune 4. Bulwark of Christianity? Morality Debates in Poland 5. Defense against Hungarian Dominance? Minority Debates in Slovakia 6. A Second Trianon? Nemzetpolitika Debates in Hungary 7. Jobbik and Anti-Roma Minority Debates 8. Discursive Influence, Party Competition and Electoral Fortune: Comparative Results and Conclusions