Debating the Populist Pariah: Changing Party Dynamics and Elite Rhetoric in the Swedish Riksdag

• Published date: 01 September 2024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/10659129241253220
• Author: Esther Mary L. Calvo,Hanna Bäck,Royce Carroll
• Date: 01 September 2024
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Political Research Quarterly

2024, Vol. 77(3) 950–961

© The Author(s) 2024

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DOI: 10.1177/10659129241253220

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Debating the Populist Pariah: Changing

Party Dynamics and Elite Rhetoric in the

Swedish Riksdag

Esther Mary L. Calvo

1

, Hanna B¨

ack

1

, and Royce Carroll

2



Abstract

Radical right populist parties have often been treated as “pariahs,”being excluded from coalition politics in parliamentary

democracies. We argue that negative rhetoric targeted at radical right populist parties in legislative debates is used by the

established parties to distance themselves from such parties and that the incentives to do so depend on the political

context. Using sentiment analysis of speeches in the Swedish Riksdag from 2010 to 2022, we f‌ind that rhetoric targeted

toward the radical right Sweden Democrats is more negative than speech concerning other parties on average. We also

f‌ind that this negative rhetoric declined over time, particularly from the center-right parties, as the formerly marginal

Sweden Democrats gained more seats and became a potential partner for cooperation. Our analysis demonstrates how

tracking parliamentary discourse provides insights into changing party dynamics. Our f‌indings suggest that, as the

prospects for populists’pariah status change, rhetoric from established parties ref‌lects this shifting role in party politics,

with enduring negativity accompanied by reduced hostility among the center-right parties with the greatest potential for

cooperation.

Keywords

pariah parties, radical right-wing populist parties, text-as-data approach, parliamentary debates, Sweden

Introduction

The rise of radical right populism has emerged as a salient

challenge to European party systems. At the mass level in

Europe, the emergence of radical right parties has been

associated with growing social divides, particularly sur-

rounding views on cultural issues (Akkerman and

Rooduijn, 2014). While established parties’

1

responses

toward radical right-wing populist parties have varied,

many have initially treated such parties as “pariahs,”

emphasizing divergence from the consensus among major

parties on basic democratic norms (Downs, 2001). When

radical right parties enter parliament, the established

parties that typically form governing coalitions often rule

out cooperation with them (see e.g., Backlund, 2020;De

Lange, 2012;Leander, 2022). However, as some radical

right parties have steadily expanded their parliamentary

representation over time, established parties have faced

shifting incentives surrounding their treatment of these

ostracized parties (De Lange, 2012).

While existing theories of party system change an-

ticipate the dynamics of initial exclusion followed by

potential incorporation, less is known about the elite

discourse that emerges as these shifts play out. Elite

rhetoric represents a distinct sphere of party positioning

vis-a-vis competitors, beyond policy stances and coalition

bargaining. Legislative speech offers a venue for parties to

establish boundaries and def‌ine the legitimacy of oppo-

nents and potential collaborators.

Building on this perspective, we examine how the

changing status of a radical right populist party is ref‌lected

in the rhetoric employed by established parties in par-

liamentary debates. We posit that parliamentary rhetoric

offers a window into how mainstream parties marginalize

and delegitimize pariah parties and how changing dy-

namics between established parties and the radical right

1

Lund University, Lund, Sweden

2

University of Essex, Colchester, UK

Corresponding Author:

Esther Mary L. Calvo, Department of Political Science, Lund University,

Allhelhelgona kyrkogata (House: Eden), Lund 2210, Sweden.

Email: esther.calvo@svet.lu.se