The youth gender gap in support for the far right

Milosav, Dorde, Dickson, Zachary ORCID: 0000-0002-9462-2980, Hobolt, Sara B. ORCID: 0000-0002-9742-9502, Kluver, Heike, Kuhn, Theresa and Rodon, Toni (2025) The youth gender gap in support for the far right. Journal of European Public Policy. ISSN 1350-1763

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Abstract

The 2024 European Parliament election showcased a surprising new trend. While progressive parties have traditionally done well among younger voters, it was far-right parties that enjoyed unprecedented electoral support among young voters in the 2024 EP elections. Analyzing data from the European Election Studies (EES) 2024, covering 27 countries and almost 25,000 voters, this paper shows that there is a sizable gender gap in voting for the far right. The electoral success of far-right parties among young voters is primarily driven by the support of young men, peaking at over 21% of all young men in 2024 compared to only about 14% among women of the same age cohort. Descriptive analyses from the EES shows that this gap can partially be explained by attitudinal differences, with young women holding more socially progressive views than young men. Age-Period-Cohort models based on EES data covering eight elections from 1989 to 2024 further reveal that this gender gap is greatest for Millennials and Generation Z. Since political attitudes and voting behaviour during the formative years may have a long-lasting effect on voting patterns and attitudes later in life, our findings have important implications for the future of European democracies.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2025 The Author(s)
Divisions:	Methodology Government
Subjects:	J Political Science > JF Political institutions (General) H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman
Date Deposited:	01 Apr 2025 07:57
Last Modified:	02 Apr 2025 08:42
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/127750

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