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When a Right-Wing Populist Party Inherits a Mass Party Organisation: The Case of EKRE
[journal article]
Abstract When the Eesti Konservatiivne Rahvaerakond (EKRE, Estonian Conservative People’s Party) took over the defunct but extensive party organisation of the Estonian People’s Union, it placed great emphasis on rebooting and extending the organisation and bringing in new activists. As a result, EKRE has gro... view more
When the Eesti Konservatiivne Rahvaerakond (EKRE, Estonian Conservative People’s Party) took over the defunct but extensive party organisation of the Estonian People’s Union, it placed great emphasis on rebooting and extending the organisation and bringing in new activists. As a result, EKRE has grown into a full-fledged mass party type of organisation with all the characteristics associated to it. Furthermore, it has become the fastest-growing party in Estonia in terms of membership and been notably successful in electoral terms. This article focuses primarily on the question of how EKRE developed a mass party organisation with a strong, ideologically-devoted activist core and a remarkable presence on the ground. The article also demonstrates how the party offers a variety of opportunities for engagement to its members. In contrast to an archetypical right-wing populist party, the decision-making power is somewhat diffused within the party, though the party leader remains the public face and mouthpiece of the party. EKRE’s online engagement strategies have been among the most successful in recent Estonian politics and make the party stand out. The article demonstrates that parties can often revise as well as repurpose the features of the predecessor parties and even build defunct mainstream parties into mass parties with a firm ideological core.... view less
Keywords
Estonia; political right; party; populism; organizational structure; organizational development; membership
Classification
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Free Keywords
EKRE; party organisation; right-wing populism; successor parties
Document language
English
Publication Year
2021
Page/Pages
p. 354-364
Journal
Politics and Governance, 9 (2021) 4
Issue topic
Right-Wing Populist Party Organisation Across Europe: The Survival of the Mass-Party?
ISSN
2183-2463
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed