A Scoping Review of Populist Radical Right Parties’ Influence on Welfare Policy and its Implications for Population Health in Europe

Document Type : Review Article

Authors

Health and Society Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands

Abstract

Background
In light of worrying public health developments such as declining life expectancy gains and increasing health inequalities, there is a heightened interest in the relationship between politics and health. This scoping review explores the possible welfare policy consequences of populist radical right (PRR) parties in Europe and the implications for population health. The aim is to map the available empirical evidence regarding the influence of PRR parties on welfare policy reforms and to understand how this relationship is mediated by political system characteristics in different countries.

 
Methods and Analysis
A scoping review of peer-reviewed empirical literature addressing the relationship between PRR parties, political systems and welfare policy in Europe was performed using the methodology by the Joanna Briggs Institute. Data was charted on main study characteristics, concepts and relevant results, after which a qualitative content analysis was performed. The data was categorised according to the political system characteristics: constitution, political economy, interest representation and partisanship. Five expert interviews were conducted for validation purposes. Early evidence from 15 peer-reviewed articles suggests that exclusionary welfare chauvinistic positions of PRR parties are likely to have negative effects on the access to welfare provisions and health of vulnerable population groups. Differences in implementation of welfare chauvinistic policy reforms are partly explained by mediation of the constitutional order (judicial institutions at national and European Union [EU] level), political economy (healthcare system funding and European single market) and partisanship (vote-seeking strategies by PRR and mainstream parties). No clear evidence was found regarding the influence of interest representation on welfare chauvinistic policies.

 
Discussion
While early evidence suggests that the welfare chauvinistic ideology of PRR parties is harmful for public health, the possible mediating role of political system characteristics on PRR welfare policy influence offers risk and protective factors explaining why the PRR ideology plays out differently across Europe.

Highlights

Supplementary File 1 (Download)

 

Commentaries Published on this Paper

  •  Are Populist Leaders Creating the Conditions for the Spread of COVID-19?; Comment on “A Scoping Review of Populist Radical Right Parties’ Influence on Welfare Policy and its Implications for Population Health in Europe”

          Abstract | PDF

 

  • Researching the Welfare Impact of Populist Radical Right Parties; Comment on “A Scoping Review of Populist Radical Right Parties’ Influence on Welfare Policy and its Implications for Population Health in Europe”

          Abstract | PDF

 

  • Right Wing Politics and Public Policy: The Need for a Broad Frame and Further Research; Comment on “A Scoping Review of Populist Radical Right Parties’ Influence on Welfare Policy and its Implications for Population Health in Europe”

         Abstract | PDF

 

  • Getting the Problem Definition Right: The Radical Right, Populism, Nativism and Public Health; Comment on “A Scoping Review of Populist Radical Right Parties’ Influence on Welfare Policy and its Implications for Population Health in Europe”

         Abstract | PDF

 

  • Denial and Distraction: How the Populist Radical Right Responds to COVID-19; Comment on “A Scoping Review of PRR Parties’ Influence on Welfare Policy and its Implication for Population Health in Europe”

        Abstract | PDF

 

  • Welfare Chauvinism, Populist Radical Right Parties and Health Inequalities; Comment on “A Scoping Review of Populist Radical Right Parties’ Influence on Welfare Policy and its Implications for Population Health in Europe”

        Abstract | PDF

 

  • Populism and Health Policy in Latin America; Comment on “A Scoping Review of Populist Radical Right Parties’ Influence on Welfare Policy and its Implications for Population Health in Europe”

        Abstract | PDF

 

  • The Multifaceted Pathways Linking Populism to Ethnic Minority Health; Comment on “A Scoping Review of Populist Radical Right Parties’ Influence on Welfare Policy and its Implications for Population Health in Europe”

         Abstract | PDF

 

  • Issue Competition and the Social Construction of Target Populations: Alternative Suggestions for the Study of the Influence of Populist Radical Right Parties on Health Policy and Health Outcomes; Comment on “A Scoping Review of Populist Radical Right Parties’ Influence on Welfare Policy and its Implications for Population Health in Europe”

        Abstract | PDF

 

  • Who Deserves Welfare and Who Does Not?; Comment on “A Scoping Review of Populist Radical Right Parties’ Influence on Welfare Policy and its Implications for Population Health in Europe”

        Abstract | PDF

 

  • Taking the Relationship Between Populism and Healthcare Seriously: A Call for Empirical Analysis Rather Than Moral Condemnation; Comment on “A Scoping Review of Populist Radical Right Parties’ Influence on Welfare Policy and its Implications for Population Health in Europe”

        Abstract | PDF

 

Authors' Response to the Commentaries

  • Bridging the Gap Between Public Health and Political Science to Study the Populist Radical Right in its Multiple Manifestations: A Response to Recent Commentaries

          Abstract | PDF

 

Keywords

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International Journal of Health Policy and Management
Volume 10, Issue 3
March 2021
Pages 141-151

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History

  • Receive Date: 16 January 2020
  • Revise Date: 25 March 2020
  • Accept Date: 28 March 2020
  • First Publish Date: 01 March 2021

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