Far-right parties and candidates have gained significant vote shares and representation in many countries in recent years. The literature explaining far-right support centers on two sets of factors: (1) material concerns stemming from exposure to globalization, trade shocks or changing labor markets, and (2) cultural concerns relating to migration shocks or demographic patterns – or the interaction between the two. Much less attention has been paid to people’s experiences with the state. In this talk, I will revisit the debate about the origins of far right support through the prism of people's experiences with the state by exploiting the political consequences of a reform of public service provision in Italy and the response to olive grove destruction due to Xylella fastidiosa bacterium in the Italian region, Puglia.
About the speaker:
Catherine De Vries is Dean for International Affairs and Professor of Political Science at Bocconi University. At Bocconi, she is also a Research Associate at the Dondena Centre for Research on Social Dynamics and Public Policy, the CLEAN Unit for the Economic Analysis of Crime of the BAFFI-CAREFIN research center and the Bocconi COVID crisis. Finally, she is an associate member of Nuffield College. Previously, she held professorships at the University of Oxford and Essex as well as visiting posts at University of California at Los Angeles, University of Mannheim, University of Vienna and the European University Institute.
De Vries' work can be broadly situated in the areas political behaviour, political economy and EU politics. De Vries has published several books. Her first book Euroscepticism and the Future of European Integration, published with Oxford University Press in 2018, received the European Union Studies Association (EUSA) Best Book in EU Studies Award in 2019 and was listed in the top-5 books on Europe’s future by the Financial Times. The book develops a benchmark theory of public opinion towards European integration and suggests that people’s views about Europe are intrinsically linked to the national benchmarks employed.
De Vries is a member of European Integration Committee of the Dutch Advisory Council on Foreign Affairs (Adviesraad Internationale Vraagstukken), the Board of Trustees of the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin and sits on the editorial board of Acta Politica, Comparative Political Studies, European Union Politics, the Journal of Politics and Political Science Research and Methods.