Converging to the mean? Moderating ideologies of far-right and far-left parties in government

In recent history, the participation of far-right and far-left parties in government coalition has become quite a frequent occurrence in Europe. While much important work has been done analyzing the myriad effects of this quickening trend, one aspect of their participation remains unclear: what effect, if any, does serving in coalition government have on the party itself? There are clearly many pressures exerted on these politicians post-transition to governor, as factions often develop between those who wish to maintain their radical ideology and rhetoric, and those who instead feel a need to moderate and focus on competent governance. For a variety of strategic reasons, I argue in the aggregate we see far-right and far-left parties moderate while in office. I analyze European party manifestos and find robust evidence of post-coalition moderation. Party manifestos written by these parties in the aftermath of serving as a coalition partner tend to be much more moderate ideologically than manifestos published at any other point in time.