This article analyses ideological and personality bases of support for a radical right party, the Sweden Democrats (SD). The comprehensive model includes core ideological variables, which mediate personality traits in order to explain support for SD.
Structural equation models were tested using a sample of the Swedish population (SOMinstitute 2014) to examine support for SD. My results suggest that the ideological preferences outlined as ‘populist nationalism’ is directly related to SD support. Associations with lower openness to experience, lower agreeableness, lower extraversion, and to some extent also with neuroticism, are mediated by the ideological variables. The conclusion discusses how SD’s success and radical rhetoric may be linked to basic psychological motivations.