Supporters of India's BJP: Distinctly Populist and Nativist
Year: 2022
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: While India's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has become recognized as a populist radical right (PRR) party under the leadership of Narendra Modi, we do not know whether this PRR supply is matched yet by PRR attitudes among its supporters. Using an original survey, we therefore investigate: Do BJP supporters display PRR attitudes? We find that those who feel close to the BJP have stronger populist and nativist attitudes than other Indian citizens. However, authoritarianism is not a distinguishing feature of BJP supporters. We argue that the similarities between the drivers of support for European PRR parties and for the BJP reinforce the idea that radical right populism is a coherent global phenomenon both in terms of supply and demand. Finally, we discuss how our study shows that party support in India is more ideologically rooted than has previously been thought.
Source: Government and Opposition
DOI: 10.1017/gov.2022.18
Institutions: Griffith University, City University of Hong Kong
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: Griffith University
OpenAlex ID: W4281732741