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In this article, a multi-disciplinary approach is used to explain the electoral breakthrough of the Vlaams Blok in Flanders (Belgium) relative to the marginal electoral performance of the extreme right in the Netherlands. Drawing on insights from various disciplines - mainly historical science, political science, sociology and social psychology, a conceptual frame is developed to explain this difference. Three factors are highlighted: supply, demand, and mobilisation. In terms of supply, an extreme right-wing party needs a 'strong' structure in order to grow. A 'fertile soil' is also needed ('demand'). This means that a large enough number of citizens must hold attitudes that make them susceptible to the message of an extreme right-wing party. Demand will mostly be guided by negative attitudes towards foreigners and (to a lesser degree) by a negative attitude towards politics. Interaction of supply and demand in the context of mobilisation can lead to an 'upward spiral'. A stronger structure implies greater means and more human resources to convince the 'reservoir' of voters. When societal circumstances allow, this can lead to an electoral breakthrough, which in turn further strengthens the structure of the party, its means to communicate with potential voters and its opportunities for placing topics on the political agenda. In this article, we will demonstrate that supply and demand are stronger in Flanders than in the Netherlands. Right-wing extremism in Flanders experienced an upward spiral, whereas in the Netherlands it remained caught in a web of organisational weakness. Keywords: RacismRight-WING ExtremismBelgiumThe Netherlands
Witte et al. (Sun,) studied this question.