Framing the Radical Right-Wing Politics - A Comparative Study of the Sweden Democrats and the Norwegian Progress Party

Over the last years, Europe has witnessed the rise of a new political party family, the RRP (Radical Right Populism). These parties signify a serious challenge to contemporary politics of Europe and raise questions concerning the cause of their increasing electoral success within European politics. By taking departure from previous literature, explaining the emergence of the RRP from a social-movement perspective with focus on collective action frames, this essay presents a comparative analysis of the successful Progress Party in Norway and the so far marginalized Sweden Democrats. To give a more comprehensive explanation of the differences in electoral support, the focus is placed on the two parties abilities to modify and adapt collective action frames in a way that make them appeal to the voters within their specific culture. Conclusion drawn from the analysis states that while the Sweden Democrats practice a collective action frame based on a traditional ethno-national approach, the Progress Party has managed to develop a liberal ethnocratic collective action frame that, by holding tolerance and egalitarian values salient, justifies their politics of exclusion.