Authoritarian nostalgia and support for (populist radical) right parties

Abstract For decades, party politics literature has argued that populist radical right (PRR) parties must distance themselves from their countries’ authoritarian pasts to achieve electoral relevance in a Sartorian sense. Yet, we now observe the growing success and influence of PRR parties that not only embrace nostalgia for this past but also maintain ties to it. The use of what we term ‘authoritarian nostalgia’ is not only becoming more widespread across politics but it has proven effective across diverse segments of the electorate. This study examines the extent to which (populist radical) right supporters approve of their countries’ authoritarian histories and view these past regimes favourably. Using original survey data fielded in Spain and Portugal and a novel set of survey items measuring authoritarian nostalgia, we find that supporters of VOX and Chega are more likely to express a broad sense of collective nostalgia, particularly through a longing for their country’s ‘old, glorious days’, but demonstrate strong nostalgia for Franco and Salazar’s authoritarian regimes more specifically. Furthermore, we observe similar affinities for the authoritarian past amongst traditional right-wing supporters, primarily among Partido Popular (PP) supporters in Spain, with weaker evidence for PPD/PSD supporters in Portugal. Our findings suggest that, rather than hindering electoral performance, authoritarian nostalgia can, in fact, stimulate (populist radical) right-wing electorates.