Description

    This dataset provides data on ideological polarization in Western Europe. It is based on parties’ left-right placement provided by several expert surveys. Then, it uses Dalton’s polarization index (2008) to calculate the polarization score in terms of votes and seats for each election. The dataset covers 20 Western European countries since 1945, for a total of 398 parliamentary elections and legislatures (Lower House). The dataset will be regularly updated to include the polarization scores of new elections and legislatures.

    How to cite this dataset?

    Emanuele, V. and Marino, B. (2023), ‘Dataset of ideological polarization in Western Europe’, Rome: Italian Center for Electoral Studies, https://doi.org/10.7802/2592.

    Publications based on this dataset

    Emanuele, V. and Marino, B. (2024), ‘Party system ideological polarization in Western Europe: data, trends, drivers, and links with other key party system properties (1945–2021)’, Political Research Exchange, https://doi.org/10.1080/2474736X.2024.2399095.

    Downloads

    Dataset of ideological polarization in Western Europe

    Codebook and dataset information

    Supplementary material: party-level dataset