Autore: Redazione CISE

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Acta Politica – Issue, 13/07/11

Autore: Daniel Bochsler

Abstract

Electoral rules have long been held as important for the success of new political parties, but research has neglected the dimension of territory in this equation. This article argues that the territorial structure of social groups, in interaction with the electoral system, makes a crucial difference for the ability of new parties to enter parliament. In district-based electoral systems, social groups that are highly concentrated face much lower hurdles with an own party than groups that are spread throughout the country. The argument is tested on a novel database on ethnic minority groups from post-communist countries in Europe, including 123 minorities in 19 countries. To test hypotheses with complex interaction effects and binary variables, Qualitative Comparative Analysis appears as the most suitable method. After controlling for size and special minority-relevant provisions in the electoral systems, there is strong confirmation for the hypothesised effect.

Full Text: https://www.palgrave-journals.com/ap/journal/v46/n3/full/ap201026a.html

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European Journal of Political Research, 20/07/2011

Autore: Joaquìn Artés

Abstract

The extent of strategic voting in the Spanish general elections of 2000, 2004 and 2008 is estimated using a new measure of strategic incentives suitable for proportional representation systems that avoids some of the problems associated with lagged variables. Strategic behaviour increased from 12 to 33 per cent of the electoral base of the United Left Party, the major victim of strategic defection. This estimate is a conservative one as elite mobilisation is controlled for in the constituencies, which is unusual in the literature on strategic voting that uses regression-based methods.

Full Text: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1475-6765.2011.02006.x/abstract;jsessionid=0608F0A67B146888F0DB4AB6DB84284C.d03t02

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European Journal of Political Research (May 2011), 50: 365–394

Autori: Mark Andreas Kayser, Christopher Wlezien

Abstract

Numerous studies have demonstrated a weakening identification of voters with political parties in Western Europe over the last three decades. It is argued here that the growing proportion of voters with weak or no party affinities has strong implications for economic voting. (mgtrailer.com) When the proportion of voters with partisan affinities is low, the effect of economic performance on election outcomes is strong; when partisans proliferate, economic conditions matter less. Employing Eurobarometer data for eight European countries from 1976 to 1992, this inverse association between partisanship and the economic vote is demonstrated. This finding implies a growing effect for the objective economy on the vote in Europe. It helps explain an important puzzle in the economic voting literature: Weak results in aggregate level cross-national studies of economic voting may be attributable to characteristics of the electorate, not just to the characteristics of government.

Full text: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1475-6765.2010.01934.x/abstract

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West European Politics (March 2011), Vol. 34, N. 2, pp. 362-383

Autore: Ross Campbell

Abstract:

One of the defining features of post-reunified East German political culture has been an enduring affinity for socialism. Although firmly opposed to the pre-1989 one-party state, a sizeable majority of East Germans nevertheless continue to value socialism. Whilst much scholarly research has investigated the strength and depth of socialist values, as well as their sources, comparatively little is known about their consequences, about if and how socialist values matter. This article seeks to redress this by examining linkages between socialist values and political participation, asking whether socialist values are merely passive, romanticised expressions, the effects of which are largely benign, or whether they have real-life behavioural consequences for democracy. (https://allproshadeconcepts.com/) Exploring this question using ALLBUS data from East Germany, five hypotheses are tested at the individual level. The results strongly demonstrate that socialist values impact upon social capital and electoral behaviour.

Full text: https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/routledg/wep/2011/00000034/00000002/art00010

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West European Politics (March 2011), Vol. 34, N. 2, pp. 256-281

Autore: Ruben Ruiz-Rufino

Abstract

This article proposes a new way to measure proportionality using aggregated threshold functions. Electoral systems can be summarised by a single value that shows the necessary share of the total vote to win either one seat or half of the seats in parliament. The article calculates aggregate threshold values for 142 different electoral systems that were used in 525 democratic elections between 1946 and 2000. These results are also contrasted with the most commonly used indices of proportionality and turn out to be both substantively and empirically richer. Aggregated threshold functions provide both students and reformers of electoral systems with a measure based purely on institutional variables that offers an exhaustive summary of the functioning of many electoral systems.

Full text: https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/routledg/wep/2011/00000034/00000002/art00005

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West European Politics (March 2011), Vol. 34, N. 2, pp. 181-207

Autori: Andreas Schuck, Claes De Vreese

Abstract

Previous research is unclear about which citizens support the use of referendums and how a referendum campaign can affect support for direct democracy. This study investigates, first, the factors that determine support for referendums and, second, the role of the campaign in changing support. This is done in the context of the 2005 Dutch EU Constitution referendum. A media content analysis of national media (N = 6,370) is combined with panel survey data (N = 1,008). The results suggest that those who felt more politically disaffected were more supportive of referendums. Furthermore, higher levels of exposure to tabloid style campaign news led to increased approval of referendums. In a second step, the mechanism behind this effect was tested using an experiment (N = 580). When exposed to negative tabloid style news about a referendum proposal, opponents perceive the assumed consequences as more of a threat. This threat perception increased their support for a referendum on the issue at stake as a means to prevent the proposal. The article concludes with a discussion about the conditions under which a dynamic like this is likely to unfold and when alternative explanations for referendum support apply.

Full text: https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/routledg/wep/2011/00000034/00000002/art00002

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Journal of Political Research (May 2011), Vol. 50: pp. 395–417

Autori: Andrè Blais, Simon Labbè St-Vincent

Abstract

This article examines the link between personality traits, political attitudes and the propensity to vote in elections, using an Internet panel survey conducted in two Canadian provinces at the time of the 2008 federal election and the subsequent provincial elections. It first establishes that the two most proximate attitudes that shape one’s propensity to vote are political interest and sense of civic duty. The article then look at specific personality traits (altruism, shyness, efficacy and conflict avoidance) that could affect level of political interest, civic duty and the propensity to vote in elections. In the last part of the analysis, a model is proposed and tested, according to which the impact of personality traits is indirect, being mediated by interest and duty. The article shows that the data are consistent with such an interpretation.

Full text: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1475-6765.2010.01935.x/abstract;jsessionid=4236C04D24CBCAA7ECCCDFC0323D14D8.d02t04

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American Political Science Review (2011), 105: 79-99

Autori: Vincenzo Galasso, Tommaso Nannicini

Abstract

Is electoral competition good for political selection? To address this issue, we introduce a theoretical model where ideological parties select and allocate high-valence (experts) and low-valence (party loyalists) candidates into electoral districts. Voters care about a national policy (e.g., party ideology) and the valence of their district’s candidates. High-valence candidates are more costly for the parties to recruit. We show that parties compete by selecting and allocating good politicians to the most contestable districts. Empirical evidence on Italian members of parliament confirms this prediction: politicians with higher ex ante quality, measured by years of schooling, previous market income, and local government experience, are more likely to run in contestable districts. Indeed, despite being different on average, politicians belonging to opposite political coalitions converge to high-quality levels in close electoral races. Furthermore, politicians elected in contestable districts have fewer absences in parliament, due to a selection effect more than to reelection incentives. (clonazepam)

Full text: https://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8239857