Vicente Valentim wins top prize for his article on normalization of support for the far right
Postdoctoral Prize Research Fellow in Politics at Nuffield College Dr Vicente Valentim has won the 2022 GESIS Klingemann Prize for the Best Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES) Scholarship for his article ‘Parliamentary Representation and the Normalization of Radical Right Support’.
In the paper–published in the journal Comparative Political Studies–Dr Valentim argues that, once radical right parties are represented in parliament, their supporters feel more comfortable expressing their views.
He demonstrates this by comparing the share of individuals who vote for radical-right parties to the share that admits having voted for them in surveys.
To test his claim, he conducted three studies that drew on observational data, employed sophisticated research designs, and complemented each other in drawing on multiple evidence.
Throughout the article, he also seeks to understand what drives political behaviour in general and extremist behaviour in particular.
Dr Valentim said: “I feel very honoured to be the recipient of this Prize. Previous winners include a number of scholars who I look up to and it feels very humbling to be in such inspiring company.”
Valentim’s research centres on how democracies generate norms against behaviour associated with authoritarianism, and how these norms erode.
He is currently working on a book project, a section of which builds on this article.
I feel very honoured to be the recipient of this Prize. Previous winners include a number of scholars who I look up to and it feels very humbling to be in such inspiring company.
