Prevelance of exclusionary nationalism across party manifestos, 1920-2021

Sean Bock, Harvard University

2023-02-01

Nationalism measures

The Comparative Manifesto Project (CMP) includes sets of content analytical variables. Each variable indicates the share of quasi-sentences in the respective category calculated as a fraction of the overall number of allocated codes per document. Below are selected measures related to exclusionary forms of nationalism. (See more on CMP here)

  • National way of life: Positive

    Favorable mentions of the manifesto country’s nation, history, and general appeals. May include: Support for established national ideas; general appeals to pride of citizenship; appeals to patriotism; appeals to nationalism; suspension of some freedoms in order to protect the state against subversion.

  • Immigration: Negative

    Statement advocating the restriction of the process of immigration, i.e. accepting new immigrants. Might include statements regarding: Immigration being a threat to national character fo the manifesto country; `the boat is full’ argument; the introduction of migration quotas, including restricting immigration from specific countries or regions etc.

  • Law and Order: Positive

    Favorable mentions of strict law enforcement, and tougher actions against domestic crime. Only refers to the enforcement of the status quo of the manifesto country’s law code. May include: Increasing support and resources for the police; tougher attitudes in courts; importance of internal security.

  • Multiculturalism: Negative

    The enforcement or encouragement of cultural integration. Appeals for cultural homogeneity in society

  • Nationalism Index

    To capture the overall level of exclusionary nationalism present in a given manifesto, we created an index, calculated as the sum of each nationalism variable. Items are normalized (i.e., between 0 and 1) before summing to weight each variable equally.

Results




Top-50 most nationalistic parties based on nationalism index, 1920-2021
Party Country Year Nationalism index Nation positive Anti-immigration Homogeneous culture Law and Order
Danish People’s Party Denmark 2015 1.00 0.25 0.45 0.50 0.61
Party of Freedom Netherlands 2017 0.96 0.00 1.00 0.48 0.26
Danish People’s Party Denmark 2019 0.86 0.11 0.68 0.17 0.59
Ticino League Switzerland 2019 0.81 0.04 0.96 0.46 0.00
Alliance of Federation of Young Democrats - Christian Democratic People's Party Hungary 2018 0.69 0.25 0.90 0.03 0.07
Liberals Denmark 2015 0.69 0.00 0.18 0.55 0.52
United Patriots Bulgaria 2017 0.67 0.33 0.00 0.41 0.47
ACT New Zealand New Zealand 2014 0.65 0.02 0.05 0.11 1.00
Israel is Our Home Israel 2009 0.63 1.00 0.00 0.00 0.15
The Jewish Home Israel 2013 0.61 0.84 0.21 0.00 0.06
Israel is Our Home Israel 2006 0.59 1.00 0.00 0.06 0.00
Independent Greeks Greece 2015 0.58 0.78 0.27 0.00 0.00
Flemish Interest Belgium 2019 0.57 0.08 0.23 0.31 0.40
The Consolidation Israel 2009 0.56 0.34 0.00 0.00 0.67
Homeland Israel 1988 0.55 0.00 0.00 1.00 0.00
The Jewish Home Israel 2015 0.54 0.68 0.26 0.04 0.00
Voice Spain 2019 0.54 0.21 0.19 0.20 0.37
National Union Israel 2009 0.53 0.88 0.00 0.09 0.00
Patriotic Front - NFSB and VMRO Bulgaria 2014 0.52 0.23 0.00 0.31 0.41
Conservative People’s Party Denmark 2015 0.51 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.93
Israel is Our Home Israel 2015 0.51 0.91 0.00 0.00 0.02
Flemish Interest Belgium 2014 0.51 0.07 0.15 0.23 0.48
Geneva Citizens' Movement Switzerland 2015 0.51 0.10 0.51 0.00 0.31
For a Good Latvia Latvia 2010 0.50 0.90 0.00 0.00 0.00
Christian Democrats Sweden 2018 0.48 0.00 0.03 0.24 0.61
Homeland Israel 1992 0.48 0.00 0.00 0.88 0.00
National Alliance ‘All For Latvia!' – ‘For Fatherland and Freedom - Latvian National Independence Movement' Latvia 2011 0.48 0.64 0.00 0.24 0.00
Austrian Freedom Party Austria 2019 0.48 0.00 0.45 0.09 0.32
Voice Spain 2019 0.48 0.21 0.16 0.19 0.31
Liberal Alliance of Montenegro Montenegro 2001 0.45 0.82 0.00 0.00 0.00
Austrian Freedom Party Austria 2013 0.45 0.09 0.28 0.28 0.17
People's Party Belgium 2014 0.45 0.03 0.13 0.14 0.51
Moderate Coalition Party Sweden 2018 0.44 0.10 0.14 0.20 0.37
National Front France 2017 0.44 0.11 0.13 0.13 0.42
Conservative People’s Party Denmark 2019 0.43 0.05 0.05 0.30 0.39
Alternative for Germany Germany 2017 0.41 0.09 0.28 0.25 0.13
Kotleba – People's Party Our Slovakia Slovakia 2016 0.40 0.01 0.30 0.07 0.35
Israel is Our Home Israel 2019 0.40 0.71 0.00 0.00 0.02
Austrian People’s Party Austria 2019 0.39 0.05 0.05 0.23 0.37
Golden Dawn Greece 2015 0.38 0.21 0.12 0.00 0.36
Sweden Democrats Sweden 2018 0.38 0.05 0.21 0.10 0.33
Christian Democratic People’s Party of Switzerland Switzerland 2015 0.38 0.03 0.12 0.14 0.40
Golden Dawn Greece 2012 0.38 0.42 0.00 0.13 0.14
Golden Dawn Greece 2012 0.38 0.42 0.00 0.13 0.14
Swiss People’s Party Switzerland 2015 0.36 0.02 0.25 0.19 0.19
Sweden Democrats Sweden 2014 0.36 0.13 0.12 0.17 0.24
Brothers of Italy Italy 2018 0.36 0.07 0.06 0.15 0.38
Danish People’s Party Denmark 2011 0.36 0.00 0.00 0.65 0.00
Right Israel 2019 0.36 0.51 0.14 0.00 0.00
Right Israel 2020 0.36 0.51 0.14 0.00 0.00
Data: Comparative Manifesto Data | Columns normalized to have max. value of 1 and min. value of 0. Nationalism Index = sum of normalized statment categories.