Documents political behaviour 49 results

"This paper examines how political competition on a non-economic dimension affects redistribution. More specifically, the paper argues that a high degree of party polarization on a non-economic policy dimension modifies the political response to growing income inequalities. Data from the World Values Survey and the Comparative Manifesto Project are employed to show that party polarization on a traditional moral dimension of politics is associated with a weaker relationship between income and subjective position on the Left–Right scale. Because party polarization is associated with a weaker relationship between income and leftism, the paper claims that the political response to increases in inequality will be weaker in polarized countries. The empirical analysis using redistribution data from the Luxembourg Income Study demonstrates that the positive effect of increases in market inequality on redistribution is lower when party polarization on the non-economic dimension is high."

"Fra gli studiosi di sociologia politica vi è stato a lungo il convincimento che fra collocazione di classe e comportamento elettorale vi sia un nesso quasi naturale, per cui a destra si collocherebbero i ceti medio-alti dell'imprenditoria e del lavoro autonomo, e a sinistra gli operai e vasti settori del lavoro dipendente. Alcuni studi più recenti rivelerebbero invece un'erosione progressiva di questo nesso, con settori sempre più ampi del lavoro dipendente che si spostano, in Occidente, verso i partiti neopopulisti del centrodestra. Tale ipotesi non sembra aver trovato riscontro in Italia, in occasione delle elezioni politiche del 2006, nelle quali si è registrato un relativo successo del centrosinistra tra i lavoratori dipendenti. In questo volume sono contenuti i risultati di alcune indagini recenti compiute in Italia su questi temi (Ires; Istituto Cattaneo; Swg), discussi da studiosi, sindacalisti e dirigenti politici, con particolare attenzione alle elezioni parlamentari del 2006. Un confronto ricco di informazioni e di spunti interpretativi intorno ai grandi mutamenti che negli ultimi due decenni hanno radicalmente trasformato il sistema politico italiano, sia sul versante dell'offerta posta in essere dai partiti, sia su quello della domanda di rappresentanza, sempre più complessa, espressa dalla società e dal mondo del lavoro dipendente. "

"What is the role of elite-level inter-party strategies in promoting or reducing negative affective evaluations of citizens? This article explores this puzzle by focusing on the decision of mainstream parties to exclude or cooperate with populist radical right-wing parties (PRRPs) in Western European countries. The analysis is based on CSES cross-national data and the LISS Dutch panel data merged with the record on whether PRRPs are subject to a cordon sanitaire or (in)formally cooperate with mainstream parties in a government coalition. The findings suggest that political exclusion fuels loathing for PRRPs among mainstream party supporters, while cooperation reduces dislike of PRRPs both among supporters of PRRP coalition partners and left-wing voters. Distinguishing between informal and formal coalitions, the cross-national data shows that only formal cooperation has a significant effect. However, the longitudinal Dutch data shows a temporary decrease of dislike also during informal cooperation."

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"Social democratic parties have undergone a transformative ideological and electoral shift. But how has this affected their alliance with trade unions in terms of personal ties? This article hypothesizes that Social democratic parties appoint fewer union-linked ministers as they become more economically centrist and less dependent on working-class voters. However, institutions that stabilize party-union relations should moderate these effects (statutory linkages, high union density, or union involvement in policymaking). Data on 2,600 ministerial appointments in Western Europe show that there is no direct relationship between trade unionist appointments and changes in party electorates or party ideology. However, electoral change is correlated with appointment patterns when institutional stabilizers are weak. Thus, social democrats weaken their elite ties to unions in response to the middle-class shift in their electorates, but only when the institutional context is unfavorable for the party-union relationship."

This work is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

"Focusing on Germany and the United Kingdom as two most dissimilar cases in terms of labour market and political institutions, the article examines the impact of trade union membership on partisan preferences. Leveraging panel data to control for time-invariant selection effects shows that trade unions exert a small but consistent left-wing influence on wage earners who become affiliated, but they are no longer able to modify the preferences of working-class members. A longitudinal approach reveals that unions mainly attract individuals who already share the unions' political inclinations before joining. The additional shift to the left experienced by already left-leaning new members is consistent with a value congruence mechanism triggered by interactions with even more left-leaning long-term union members. Symmetrically, working-class joiners exhibit less pronounced left-wing inclinations before becoming affiliated, a gap that widens further after they join. These findings imply that unions' political influence and class allegiances have been both eroded and altered by changes in the labour market and political landscape."

This work is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

"In academic and public debates, populism has been portrayed both as a threat and a corrective to democracy. In the article, this debate is approached from the perspective of citizens' attitudes and it is asked whether more populist citizens are less supportive of democracy. Using data from an original 6-country panel, robust evidence is presented that populism is indeed negatively related to democratic regime preferences. By disentangling populist attitudes, however, a more nuanced picture is offered and it is highlighted that not all forms and sub-dimensions of populism present a threat to democracy. It is primarily right-wing populism and the Manichaean outlook on society that are negatively related to diffuse support for democracy in the general public. This underlines the need for democratic societies to address the dangers of an exclusionary populism and the radical polarisation inherent in a Manichaean worldview."

This work is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

"This study enhances our understanding of the long-term impact of radical right parties (RRPs) on public opinion by examining the local mobilisation of the Sweden Democrats (SD) over the past two decades. Drawing on extensive local-level data from Sweden's 290 municipalities (2002–2020), merged with survey data, the study reveals that the gradual establishment of RRPs in local politics alters voters' policy preferences, increasing the salience of immigration. The study further shows that the SD's local presence reshapes societal divides, leading individuals to increasingly sort their ideological views according to their positions on immigration, while reducing the prominence of economic redistribution issues. Consequently, public attention shifts away from traditional economic-redistributive conflicts towards immigration-related concerns. These findings have significant implications, suggesting that the local establishment of RRPs reconfigures public perceptions of political conflict from the grassroots level, independent of demographic trends, external crises, and even RRPs' national leadership."

This work is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

"The British Social Attitudes survey series is carried out by Britain's largest independent social research institute, the National Centre for Social Research. It provides an indispensable guide to current political and social issues in contemporary Britain.
This, the 23rd report, describes the results of the most recent nation-wide survey, including analysis of the following areas:
- Civil liberties
- Social identities
- Disability
- Political Respect
- Employment Relations
- Health

The most comprehensive review of changing British social values available, the British Social Attitudes survey report is essential reading for anyone seeking a guide to the topical issues and debates of today or engaged in contemporary social and political research. "

"Recently, developed economies have witnessed an emerging dualism between the so-called labor market ‘insiders and outsiders'—two groups facing divergent levels of employment security and prospects. Those on the ‘inside' occupy stable jobs, while those on the ‘outside' confront increased levels of social and economic risks. There are, however, various prominent, but divergent, operationalizations of the insider–outsider phenomenon. While some scholars opt for indicators rooted in current labor market status of individuals, others prefer to consider occupational class groups as bases of the insider–outsider divide. As these operationalizations of outsiderness capture different profiles of outsiders, we test the extent to which they lead to consistent or inconsistent conclusions about electoral behavior. The article yields two consistent findings that are robust across all the operationalizations: that outsiders are less likely to vote for major right parties than are insiders, and that outsiders are more likely to abstain from voting. Additionally, we find that occupation-based outsiders tend to support radical right parties, while status-based outsiders rather opt for radical left parties—a finding supported by the association between social risk and authoritarian preferences. We test our expectations using multinomial logit models estimating vote choice on the first five waves of the European Social Survey from 2002 to 2010 across western Europe."