Zaproszenie na seminarium ISESS UW (9 czerwca)
04 06 2025
We are pleased to invite you to the upcoming seminar within the Interdisciplinary Seminar in Empirical Social Science (ISESS) series, organized by the Centre of Excellence in Social Sciences at the University of Warsaw.
The seminar will be led by Vicente Valentim from IE University.
Date: Monday, June 9
Time: 13:15
Venue: Room 308, Old Library, University of Warsaw (Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28, Main Campus)
Presentation title:
The Normalization of the Radical Right: A Norms Theory of Political Supply and Demand
The abstract of the talk is available on the ISESS website:
https://cess.idub.uw.edu.pl/en/isess/seminar/
Speaker bio:
https://www.vicentevalentim.com/
Please note that the seminar will be conducted in English, held in person only, and no registration is required.
We warmly encourage your participation and look forward to seeing you there!
More information you can find here.
Abstract:
Radical-right behavior is increasing across Western democracies, often very fast. Previous research has shown, however, that political attitudes and preferences do not change this fast. This book argues that, to understand these patterns, one needs to appreciate the crucial role of social norms as drivers of political behavior. It builds on a norms-based theory of political supply and demand, arguing that growing radical-right behavior is driven by individuals who already held radical-right views, but who did not act on them because they thought that they were socially unacceptable. If these voters do not express their preferences, politicians can underestimate how much latent support there is for radical-right policy. This leaves the radical right with less skilled leaders, who are unable to mobilize even radical-right voters to support them. However, if politicians realize that there is more private support for radical-right policy than is typically observable, they have an incentive to run for election on a radical-right platform and mobilize silent radical-right views. Their electoral success, in turn, makes radical-right individuals become more comfortable showing their views, and impels more politicians to join the radical right. The argument of the book makes us rethink how political preferences translate into behavior, shows how social norms affect the interaction of political supply and demand, and highlights how a political culture that promotes inclusion can erode.
Bio:
I am an assistant professor of political science at IE University. I earned my PhD at the European University Institute in July 2021. Before joining IE, I was a Postdoctoral Prize Research Fellow in Politics at Nuffield College, University of Oxford, of which I remain an associate member.
I study what citizens think is acceptable to do in a democracy, why that is, and how it changes.
My book on social norms and the normalization of the radical right came out with Oxford University Press in 2024. It has been listed as one of the books of the year by the Financial Times and by Piedras de Papel.
My articles have been published in The Journal of Politics, Comparative Political Studies, and British Journal of Political Science, among other academic journals.
My work been discussed in media outlets like the Financial Times, the Guardian, or CNN.
In this website you can find further information about my research agenda, a list of my publications, and a description of my book.
You can also look into my Google Scholar profile or follow me on Bluesky @valentimvicente.bsky.social.