Jeffrey Nonnemacher

Rejecting the radical right: Local inequality and party support

Avery Lord — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 19:48:06 +0000

Rejecting the radical right: Local inequality and party support Avery Lord Tue, 06/16/2026 - 13:48

Rejecting the radical right: Local inequality and party support

By: Jeffrey Nonnemacher, Jennifer Fitzgerald

Abstract:

Does economic inequality motivate support for the populist radical right? Previous studies point in different directions in answer to this question. Some argue that inequality benefits the radical right, while others assert that it instead strengthens parties on the left and undercuts the right. We weigh in on this debate with survey experimental evidence from Sweden. When prompted to think about inequality at the national or local level, respondents on average become less inclined to support the Sweden Democrats, a radical right populist party. These effects are particularly robust and sizable when the matter at hand is local—rather than national—inequality. Furthermore, Sweden Democrat support is weakened most when the local inequality prompt is received by those who are on the radical right ideologically and who express concerns about law and order in society. We argue that to understand inequality’s effects on voter behavior, it is essential to explore the ways people conceptualize it. This study serves as a reminder to consider the day-to-day implications of macro-economic developments, and it provides a tool for communicating with voters in a way that undercuts the appeals of radical right parties.

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Scholar Dissects Voter Perceptions of Transnational Politics

Avery Lord — Wed, 20 Aug 2025 15:21:29 +0000

Scholar Dissects Voter Perceptions of Transnational Politics Avery Lord Wed, 08/20/2025 - 09:21

̽��Ƶ political scientist Jeffrey Nonnemacher asserts that Western European national political parties use their affiliations with party families to signal their own political viewpoints

“My goal with this paper is to tackle the question of: Do voters care if the AfD’s leadership is spending a lot of time with France’s Marine Le Pen and the National Rally? Are voters getting some sort of information from the party family label attached to a party and the party’s relationship with that label?” he explains. In his paper, Nonnemacher contends that political parties in Western Europe are responsive to politics outside their home country—and that strategic choices to embrace a larger party family label, such as radical right in the case of AfD, do influence how parties are perceived by a country’s voters.

In a recent conversation with Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine, Nonnemacher emphasized that a political party that embraces the party family signifies its commitment to the larger ideological goals associated with the party family, while parties that push back and work to distance themselves from their sister parties from other countries signal that they may not be credible champions for core issues. His answers have been lightly edited for style and clarity.

Read the full article Here

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CU Undergrad Presents at MPSA 2019

Anonymous — Tue, 09 Apr 2019 14:55:59 +0000

CU Undergrad Presents at MPSA 2019 Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 04/09/2019 - 08:55

On April 6th, Jeffrey Nonnemacher presented his research at the 77th annual Midwest Political Science Association conference. The conference took place in Chicago, Illinois, and gives students an opportunity to show off their own research. In order to participate, each applicant must submit a proposal to the heads of the 2019 program committee of a research paper and 10-minute presentation. Congratulations to Jeffrey!

Jeffrey's research focused on the rise of the radical right in Europe and the success of the Sweden Democrats in recent elections. Working with Dr. Sarah Sokhey and Dr. Jennifer Fitzgerald, he conducted a survey experiment among Swedish citizens as part of his honors thesis. He received department funding as part of the new Learning by Doing initiative to conduct the survey and Professional & Academic Conference Endowment funding to attend the conference.

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