Open AccessHoe zwart is Vlaanderen ? : Een exploratief onderzoek naar uiterst-rechtse denkbeelden in Vlaanderen in 1991
Author(s) -
Hans De Witte,
Jaak Billiet,
P.L.H. Scheepers
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
res publica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 0486-4700
DOI - 10.21825/rp.v36i1.18755
Subject(s) - flemish , population , extreme right , left wing politics , sociology , ideology , operationalization , galton's problem , nationalism , social psychology , psychology , political science , politics , law , demography , geography , epistemology , statistics , philosophy , mathematics , archaeology
On the basis of the research literature, five aspects of the extreme right-wing ideology were distinguished : racism, extreme ethnic nationalism, the preference for a strong leadership, anti-parliamentarianism, and an anti-left attitude. The data of a postal survey in the spring of 1991 of a representative sample of the Flemish population in Belgium show that the items with which these extreme right-wing topics were operationalized show a one dimensional structure. About 10% to 25% of the interviewees agree with the individual items and about 20% of the subjects scored on the extreme right-wing side of the scale. The 'hardcore' of extreme right-wing respondents is, however, much smaller (about 1% to 2%), and does not seem to be higher in Flanders than in most of the surrounding countries. The right-wing extremism scale developed correlates as expected with a previously developed typology that integrates the attitude with respect to autochthons and allochthons. The analysis confirms that the voters for the Vlaams Blok - taken as a whole - may not be considered right-wing extremists, as suggested by previous research. Right-wing extremism correlates with a large number of attitudes and seems to be embedded in the broader opinion dimension of socio-cultural conservatism. This may also explain why it is associated primarily with the age, educational level, and religiosity of the respondents.