Dr. sc. (pol.) Elina Kestiläs dissertation “Explaining the Success and Failure of the Extreme Right from Micro and Macro Perspectives: Case Studies and Comparative Findings” was approved at the University of Turku on May 4, 2007. Elina Kestilä studies radical right-wing parties, the variation in the amount of electoral support they receive, and the factors behind this variation. The conclusions are that examining the so-called negative cases (political systems with no radical right-wing party or a weak one) on a general level and studying the so-called positive cases (political systems where the support for radical right-wing is moderate or strong) on a regional level can help in building sustainable models that explain the support for the radical right. Contrary to common belief, socioeconomic factors cannot be used to predict a high level of support for the radical right. Kestilä has been searching for more durable explanatory models through the study of the so-called negative cases and regional approach.