Does migration cause an increase in far-right party voting across Europe?

Far-right parties have emerged in many countries, and many are advocates for limiting future numbers and restricting the rights of immigrants and asylum seekers. This study puts forward an explanation for the recent success of far-right parties across Europe. The dependent variable is the percentage of far-right party votes in the legislative and executive elections. The key independent variables include measures of migration such as asylum applications, numbers of illegally present and unaccompanied minors’ applications, as well as economic indicators such as GDP and unemployment. Countries are separated into transit and host countries. The study uses Time-Series Cross-Sectional Data and conducts Pearson’s correlations and multiple regression analysis. The findings show that the impact of migration depends on whether the election is legislative or executive and whether the country is a host or transit country. The Pearson’s correlations found that one of the most important factors was unaccompanied minors’ applications which was the only common variable in both election types. The multiple regression also supported this finding. Differences between host and transit countries were found, and illustrated migration as being a more important factor in far-right party success in host rather than transit countries. In conclusion, it is suggested further research be conducted to understand the difference between election types as well as the importance of unaccompanied minors’ applications. The findings give a better understanding of the role migration plays in far-right party success