Political Entrepreneurs

Book excerpt: "The years since the financial crisis have been marked by a remarkable stability in national government which hides the impact of a new kind of issue based politics which has arisen with parties such as Podemos in Spain, Srizia in Greece, The National Front in France and UKiP in the UK, all of whom have had a significant influence in shaping the political agenda in their own countries even if they have not actually secured formal power. This is the first book to present a rigorous yet accessible analysis of this phenomenon, grounded in the theories and methods of quantitative political science but drawing on empirical insights and theory from political psychology and sociology as well to try to understand the similarities and differences in the circumstances that have lead to these parties springing up and shaping political discourse and even policy to an extent that has challenged the very existence of the traditional party system"--