Editorial: Shaping the future? Exploring the dynamics of new parties in European democracies

The landscape of twenty-first-century European poli7cs is increasingly defined by the persistent rise and consolida7on of new poli7cal par7es. From populist insurgents to green or digital movement-based forma7ons, these actors have moved from the periphery to the very center of the poli7cal stage, disrup7ng long-standing pa?erns of compe77on across the con7nent. To date, however, scholarly analysis has predominantly viewed this phenomenon through an electoral lens, focusing on shi@ing vo7ng behaviors (e.g. Bochsler and Hänni, 2022;Otjes and Van de Wardt, 2023), party compe77on (see de Vries and Hobolt, 2020;Hino, 2012), or the immediate vola7lity they inject into party systems (e.g. Emanuele and Chiaramonte, 2018;Sikk, 2005). While these insights are vital, this focus o@en treats new par7es as mere episodic disrup7ons rather than structurally significant agents that are fundamentally reshaping the broader processes of representa7on and governance.Moreover, the very concept of the 'new party' remains analy7cally unstable (Haughton and Deegan-Krause, 2020;Sikk and Köker, 2023). While widely invoked, it is rarely defined in consistent or theore7cally grounded ways. In some accounts, newness refers to organiza7onal novelty; in others, to electoral entry, leadership change, ideological innova7on, or the mobiliza7on of previously unrepresented cons7tuencies. As a result, research on new par7es risks producing fragmented and poten7ally contradictory insights, limi7ng cumula7ve progress in understanding the phenomenon. At the same 7me, much of the exis7ng literature has priori7zed explaining the emergence and electoral success of new par7es, while devo7ng compara7vely less a?en7on to their consequences. Yet if new par7es are indeed transforming European poli7cs, it is equally important to examine how they reshape policy agendas and redefine the boundaries of poli7cal compe77on itself. This research topic addresses these gaps by advancing novel perspec7ves on new par7es in contemporary Europe. Rather than trea7ng new par7es solely as dependent variables-outcomes to be explained-it examines them as both products and drivers of broader transforma7ons in poli7cal systems. In doing so, it brings together contribu7ons that address three interrelated ques7ons: how new par7es should be conceptualized and measured; under what condi7ons they succeed electorally; and how their presence reshapes poli7cal representa7on and parliamentary dynamics. By examining both the causes and consequences of new party breakthrough, this collec7on of ar7cles contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of how representa7ve democracy in Europe is adap7ng to changing poli7cal and societal condi7ons.The first ar7cle tackles the conceptual founda7ons of the field by examining compe7ng defini7ons and opera7onaliza7ons of new par7es. Rahat demonstrates that exis7ng approaches vary widely in their theore7cal assump7ons and empirical implica7ons, o@en confla7ng dis7nct forms of novelty and organiza7onal change. By systema7cally comparing alterna7ve conceptual frameworks, the ar7cle highlights the need for greater conceptual clarity and transparency and argues for the need to integrate exis7ng approaches and datasets. In doing so, it provides a necessary founda7on for more coherent and cumula7ve research on new par7es.The second ar7cle shi@s the focus from conceptualiza7on to explana7on, examining the structural and configura7onal condi7ons under which new par7es achieve electoral success across European democracies. Using fuzzy-set Qualita7ve Compara7ve Analysis (fsQCA), Lisi shows that new party success emerges from dis7nct combina7ons of poli7cal distrust, ins7tu7onal openness, and socioeconomic pressures. Crucially, the findings demonstrate that low confidence in established par7es operates as a key enabling condi7on, while different pathways-such as poli7cal crisis or permissive electoral ins7tu7ons-translate this underlying legi7macy deficit into electoral breakthroughs. By highligh7ng both enabling and constraining configura7ons, the ar7cle underscores the importance of viewing new party success as a context-dependent outcome rooted in broader pa?erns of party system permeability.The analysis of new par7es has become indispensable for understanding the shi@ing mechanics of contemporary European democracies. Historically, empirical research has overwhelmingly priori7zed the radical right party family, assessing their specific impact on public opinion, party compe77on, and governance. The final two contribu7ons explicitly develop this strand of research by examining how new radical right par7es reshape policy agendas and parliamentary dynamics.Berger's study analyzes the impact of radical right par7es on immigra7on policy, demonstra7ng that their influence extends beyond direct par7cipa7on in government. Even when excluded from execu7ve office, radical right par7es exert indirect effects by pushing mainstream par7es-par7cularly moderate centrist actors-to adopt more restric7ve and securi7zing posi7ons. This finding challenges conven7onal assump7ons about policy influence, showing that new par7es can reshape poli7cal outcomes by altering the strategic environment in which established par7es operate.provides an in-depth examina7on of these dynamics through the case of Portugal, where the emergence of the radical right party Chega has significantly altered parliamentary compe77on. It shows that Chega has contributed to increased levels of parliamentary conflict and polariza7on, expanding the scope of poli7cal contesta7on to include both tradi7onal ideological divides and newly poli7cized issues. This case illustrates how new par7es can transform not only electoral compe77on but also the internal func7oning of democra7c ins7tu7ons, reshaping pa?erns of debate, conflict, and representa7on even in historically stable party systems.The contribu7ons included in this research topic underscore the need to move beyond viewing new par7es solely as transient challengers or indicators of democra7c malaise.Instead, they should be understood as central actors in the ongoing reconfigura7on of European poli7cal systems. This perspec7ve points to a broader research agenda for the study of new par7es in contemporary Europe. Future research should pay greater a?en7on to the long-term consequences of new party compe77on, including their impact on policy-making, governance, and democra7c accountability. It is also essen7al to analyze the environmental condi7ons that allow new par7es to transform pa?erns of poli7cal par7cipa7on, as well as their evolving 7es to direct democracy and ins7tu7onal democra7c innova7ons. More fundamentally, the rise of new par7es raises ques7ons about the changing nature of poli7cal representa7on itself, highligh7ng tensions between stability and responsiveness, ins7tu7onal con7nuity and poli7cal innova7on. Understanding these dynamics is essen7al not only for explaining the evolu7on of European party systems, but also for assessing the future trajectory of democra7c poli7cs in Europe.