Review of History and Political Science

Far Right Parties and Movements in Europe, Japan, and the Tea Party in the U.S.: A Comparative Analysis
William E. Carroll

Abstract
This article examines the extent to which the Tea Party in the US is comparable to far right parties and movements in Europe and Japan. It begins with a review of the major theories of the far right which will be applied in the comparative analysis of the article. This is followed by a description of the ideologies, bases of support, electoral strength or degree of influence, and organization of far right parties in Britain, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, and the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, all in Western Europe. It also looks at the nationalist far right in Japan. Then the Tea Party in the US is described in similar fashion. The comparative analysis finds significant similarities and overlapping of ideologies and issue agendas, voters, organization, and impact on the party system. It concludes that further analysis is warranted, in theoretical application and expansion in the range and number of cases, for example Eastern Europe and Australia.

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