Democracy, Radical Right Populism and Climate Policy
Abstract
Abstract Populist radical right parties (PRRPs) are increasingly portrayed as a threat to climate governance, yet it remains unclear whether their electoral success consistently translates into weaker climate policy. Using a novel panel of 60 countries (2007–2023) spanning six continents and approximately half the global population, we examine how democracy conditions the relationship between PRRP electoral strength and climate policy. Greater PRRP support is associated with weaker climate policy only in hybrid regimes, whereas consolidated democracies largely buffer climate policy from populist pressures. This democratic protection is conditional, however: where political corruption is high, even consolidated democracies become vulnerable to populist-driven climate policy retrenchment. Conversely, in hybrid regimes, high climate exposure attenuates the negative effect of populism, suggesting that material vulnerability constrains political discretion. These findings demonstrate that the effects of populism on climate policy depend critically on democratic quality, institutional integrity, and climate exposure.
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