Niels Nyholt argues that voters’ everyday experiences with political decisions can substantiate populist parties' anti-elitist arguments. When mainstream politicians accommodate changes in settlement patterns by merging schools and hospitals, some communities are left without nearby services. Here, right-wing populist parties offer an electoral outlet for residents feeling left behind
Niels' primary research interest is in understanding how people's experiences with politics and politicians in their local area shape their political behaviour.
This has led him to study areas such as electoral accountability in the context of school and hospital closures, nimbyism, the attitudes of residents of disadvantaged neighbourhoods, rural resentment, and candidate choice.
His work has appeared in the European Journal of Political Research and Political Behavior.
