Restrained Radicals

'Fred Paxton's nuanced analyses not only show that policy-making is a performative activity for the populist radical right, but also demonstrate that local politics is often a testing-ground for national parties to try out strategies and alliances.' Sarah de Lange, Department of Political Science, University of Amsterdam 'Fred Paxton makes an important contribution to the study of a so far uncharted terrain - the effect populist radical right parties in local power have on local politics, and the effect acquiring local power has on these parties themselves.' Hanspeter Kriesi, Department of Political and Social Sciences, European University Institute, Florence 'Paxton has achieved the considerable feat of producing a sophisticated study on an original topic: the actions and impact of these parties in local government across Western Europe. His insightful analysis should be essential reading for those interested in understanding how populists adapt to power.' Duncan McDonnell, Professor and ARC Future Fellow, Centre for Governance and Public Policy, Griffith University 'Grounded in both specific and general party politics literature, and built upon a clever research design, Fred Paxton masterfully integrates the local level into the nationally dominated literature and raises major new opportunities and questions for future research. Truly groundbreaking!' Cas Mudde, School of Public and International Affairs, University of Georgia