In the study, the common denominator of voting behavior was found for the first time to be a radical right-wing worldview.
Eurovision and folk music is not the first to be associated with the radical right, but that’s the only way these three concepts find each other in a recent study.
Researchers from the universities of Amsterdam and Tilburg have waded through the voting results of 40 countries in the Eurovision Song Contest over a period of twenty years and suddenly ended up with something that seems surprising. to the conclusion.
According to the researchers, the success of the radical right in the elections is correlated with the scores given by the country’s citizens to songs containing folk music from other countries in the Eurovision Song Contest. The more MPs representing the radical right have been in the country’s parliament, the more likely votes have gone to folk songs from other countries.
Docent of regional and cultural studies Outi Hakola The University of Helsinki considers the result interesting.
“After all, this is a really interesting observation that these things are correlated with each other. In previous Eurovisa studies, the issue has not been studied from the perspective of populism and politics,” says Hakola.
Hakola knows the subject thoroughly, as he himself has taught his course on the construction of national identity in Eurovision.
Already in previous studies, it has been found that geographically close countries, such as Cyprus and Greece or Sweden and Denmark, vote for each other sensitively.
The countries of the former Soviet bloc have also been noticed to favor each other. Now, for the first time, a radical right-wing worldview was found as a common denominator.
Dutch researchers defined the songs they studied as folk music (or ethnomusic) on the basis of costumes, instruments and vocal language. According to the researchers, a total of 28 percent met at least one criterion, many met all three.
The Dutch explain the result with the fight of the radical right against globalization. You can’t vote for your own country’s song in Eurovision, so the closest comparison can often be found in the surrounding area. The songs emphasizing the national heritage of the neighboring countries are therefore perceived to be on the same front against globalization, which is perceived as evil.
“When you support the right of others to present their own nationality very strongly, then you take a stand on the whole Eurovision culture,” says Hakola. “At the same time, Eurovision viewers support the fact that their own country can also send songs that highlight the characteristics of their own culture.”
Globalization usually described as a process in which the importance of geography diminishes. In this way, it strengthens the interdependence and connection of different parts of the world. Eurovision has also often been seen as an example of activities aimed at increasing interaction between the participating countries.
According to Hakola, Eurovision is still influenced by the trend that reflects national identity.
“Actually, there have been two different trends in Eurovision for a long time. The first is the folkloristic trend, where the song is marketed with national characteristics. The song is like a performance about that national identity,” explains Hakola.
“In another trend, we go with current influences and want to show belonging to the international community.”
In the song selections of Eurovision participating countries, both trends vary from year to year. Of course, many other things are emphasized in the selection than the current political situation.
“Let’s test what kind of song might be successful that year,” Hakola says.
Right-wing populism the clearest correlation was found in the voting results of Hungary, Serbia, Macedonia and Turkey. Also in Finland, the number of basic Finnish MPs is slightly correlated with the Eurovision voting results.
“On a large scale, it seems to apply here as well. However, it must be said that in this study it was not possible to study the individual sounds made by people, so to verify this would require further studies”, Hakola reminds.
The world has reported on the research The Guardian.
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