THE EXTREME RIGHT 181
eral framework, we stress the ethnic elements ofthe discourse and mobilization
of the extreme right-a collective actor that conveys an ethnoculrural
conception of national identity, emphasizing cultural difference as a major
barrier toward integration and societal cohesion, and that opposes the idea
of the nation as a political and civic community (Koopmans and Statham
1999b). Of course, this approach does not exhaust the various ideological
and discursive elements of this actor and does not do its full complexity
justice. Yet, it focuses on the distinctive characteristic of the extreme right
with respect to the political field of immigration and ethnic relations. By
doing so, this allows us to link the claims made by extreme-right actors
with the prevailing configurations of citizenship.
The success of extreme-right parties varies strongly across countries.
While, for example, the French Front National gained the support of 15 percent
of the electorate in 1997 and triumphed over the Socialist Party in the
first round of the presidential elections in 2002, the British National Party
has remained steadfastly at the political margins. Previous work has tended
to overlook cross-national differences in favor of a focus on the conditions
that have facilitated the emergence or breakthrough of extreme-right parties.
In addition, it has tended to focus on parties and electoral strength,
stressing two main sets offactors: demand-side and supply-side. The former
refers to the conditions that have led to the creation of a social and cultural
reservoir to be exploited by far-right political organizations, such as value
change and structural cleavages related to the modernization process (e.g.,
Betz 1993; Flanagan 1987; Ignazi 1992; Minkenberg 1992). Supply-side
factors include political and institutional aspects, such as the structure of
the electoral system, the responses ofestablished actors, and the dynamics of
party alignment, demarcation, and competition (e.g., Betz 1993; Kitschelt
1995; Kriesi 1999; Koopmans 1996a; Schain 1987; Thranhardt 1995), that
provide the extreme right with a political niche to be exploited.
With regard to explanations for the rise and mobilization of extraparliamentary
forms ofthe extreme right (e.g., racist and xenophobic violence
perpetrated by skinheads or other groups of apparently disaffected youngsters),
there is relatively little systematic research. To find a theoretical framework
to explain this form of right-wing extremism, we must resort to the
social movement literature. There we find two competing explanations: one
focusing on grievances and ethnic competition, the other on opportunities
and institutional frameworks (Koopmans 1996a). Grievance theories see the
cause of extreme-right violence as discontent with respect to the main target
of this collective actor, i.e., foreigners, migrants, and asylum seekers, and
as a response to growing pressures stemming from new immigration and its