Holding on to voters in volatile times: Bonding voters through party links with civil society.
Martin, N.; de Lange, S. L; and van der Brug, W.
Party Politics,1354068820980304. December 2020.
Paper
doi
bibtex
abstract
1 download
@article{martin_holding_2020,
title = {Holding on to voters in volatile times: {Bonding} voters through party links with civil society},
issn = {1354-0688},
shorttitle = {Holding on to voters in volatile times},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1177/1354068820980304},
doi = {10.1177/1354068820980304},
abstract = {Political parties are increasingly confronted with electoral volatility. However, the support for some parties is more stable than that of others. Although it has been established that parties’ links to civil society stabilised their electorates in the period until the 1980s, it has not yet been investigated whether such links still fulfil this function in our volatile age. In this paper, we argue that traditional party connections, as well as links to modern day civil society organisations, continue to tie voters to parties. Using a novel dataset covering 149 parties in 29 elections in 14 West European countries, we establish that parties with stronger links to civil society do indeed have a more stable support base. This relationship holds for parties of the left and right. Our results demonstrate that parties’ societal embeddedness continues to play a role in understanding party competition in the 21st century.},
language = {en},
urldate = {2020-12-30},
journal = {Party Politics},
author = {Martin, Nick and de Lange, Sarah L and van der Brug, Wouter},
month = dec,
year = {2020},
keywords = {civil society, elections, linkages, political parties, volatility},
pages = {1354068820980304},
}
Political parties are increasingly confronted with electoral volatility. However, the support for some parties is more stable than that of others. Although it has been established that parties’ links to civil society stabilised their electorates in the period until the 1980s, it has not yet been investigated whether such links still fulfil this function in our volatile age. In this paper, we argue that traditional party connections, as well as links to modern day civil society organisations, continue to tie voters to parties. Using a novel dataset covering 149 parties in 29 elections in 14 West European countries, we establish that parties with stronger links to civil society do indeed have a more stable support base. This relationship holds for parties of the left and right. Our results demonstrate that parties’ societal embeddedness continues to play a role in understanding party competition in the 21st century.
Methodological Challenges in the Study of Political Elites.
Freire, A.; Coller, X.; Andreadis, I.; Jaime, A. M.; Serra da Silva, S.; and Kartsounidou, E.
In Freire, A.; Barragán, M.; Coller, X.; Lisi, M.; and Tsatsanis, E., editor(s),
Political Representation in Southern Europe and Latin America Crisis or Continuing Transformation following the Great Recession?. Routledge, London, 2020.
ECC: 0000000
Paper
bibtex
@incollection{freire_methodological_2020,
address = {London},
title = {Methodological {Challenges} in the {Study} of {Political} {Elites}},
isbn = {978-0-367-02294-5},
url = {https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/methodological-challenges-study-political-elites-andr%C3%A9-freire-xavier-coller-ioannis-andreadis-antonio-jaime-sofia-serra-silva-evangelia-kartsounidou/e/10.4324/9780429400414-7},
booktitle = {Political {Representation} in {Southern} {Europe} and {Latin} {America} {Crisis} or {Continuing} {Transformation} following the {Great} {Recession}?},
publisher = {Routledge},
author = {Freire, André and Coller, Xavier and Andreadis, Ioannis and Jaime, Antonio M. and Serra da Silva, Sofia and Kartsounidou, Evangelia},
editor = {Freire, André and Barragán, Mélany and Coller, Xavier and Lisi, Marco and Tsatsanis, Emmanouil},
year = {2020},
note = {ECC: 0000000},
}
Electoral System Incentives for a Party-Serving Personal Vote How Can High Personalization Occur under PR?.
Popescu, M.; and Chiru, M.
Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 53(2): 3–24. June 2020.
Publisher: University of California Press
Paper
doi
bibtex
abstract
@article{popescu_electoral_2020,
title = {Electoral {System} {Incentives} for a {Party}-{Serving} {Personal} {Vote} {How} {Can} {High} {Personalization} {Occur} under {PR}?},
volume = {53},
issn = {0967-067X},
url = {/cpcs/article/53/2/3/110708/Electoral-System-Incentives-for-a-Party-Serving},
doi = {10.1525/cpcs.2020.53.2.3},
abstract = {Candidate-centric campaigns are most likely to occur when electoral system incentives to personalize do not conflict with party-based incentives. Then it makes sense for candidates to use any campaign mean to improve their chances to win a seat while also helping the party win more seats and increasing their standing within the organization. The Romanian electoral system uniquely combined mechanisms that enabled all three motivations for almost all candidates. Our analysis of the degree and determinants of personalization in the 2012 parliamentary elections illustrates that electoral system incentives were key factors driving campaign personalization as a party-congruent rather than adversarial campaign strategy.},
language = {en},
number = {2},
urldate = {2020-12-15},
journal = {Communist and Post-Communist Studies},
author = {Popescu, Marina and Chiru, Mihail},
month = jun,
year = {2020},
note = {Publisher: University of California Press},
pages = {3--24},
}
Candidate-centric campaigns are most likely to occur when electoral system incentives to personalize do not conflict with party-based incentives. Then it makes sense for candidates to use any campaign mean to improve their chances to win a seat while also helping the party win more seats and increasing their standing within the organization. The Romanian electoral system uniquely combined mechanisms that enabled all three motivations for almost all candidates. Our analysis of the degree and determinants of personalization in the 2012 parliamentary elections illustrates that electoral system incentives were key factors driving campaign personalization as a party-congruent rather than adversarial campaign strategy.
Styles of Representation in Constituencies in the Homeland and Abroad: The Case of Italy.
Østergaard-Nielsen, E.; and Camatarri, S.
Parliamentary Affairs, (gsaa063). November 2020.
Paper
doi
bibtex
abstract
@article{ostergaard-nielsen_styles_2020,
title = {Styles of {Representation} in {Constituencies} in the {Homeland} and {Abroad}: {The} {Case} of {Italy}},
issn = {0031-2290},
shorttitle = {Styles of {Representation} in {Constituencies} in the {Homeland} and {Abroad}},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsaa063},
doi = {10.1093/pa/gsaa063},
abstract = {The role orientation of political representatives and candidates is a longstanding concern in studies of democratic representation. The growing trend in countries to allow citizens abroad to candidate in homeland elections from afar provides an interesting opportunity for understanding how international mobility and context influences ideas of representation among these emigrant candidates. In public debates, emigrant candidates are often portrayed as delegates of the emigrant constituencies. However, drawing on the paradigmatic case of Italy and an original data set comprising emigrant candidates, we show that the perceptions of styles of representation abroad are more complex. Systemic differences between electoral districts at home and abroad are relevant for explaining why and how candidates develop a trustee or delegate orientation.},
number = {gsaa063},
urldate = {2020-12-14},
journal = {Parliamentary Affairs},
author = {Østergaard-Nielsen, Eva and Camatarri, Stefano},
month = nov,
year = {2020},
}
The role orientation of political representatives and candidates is a longstanding concern in studies of democratic representation. The growing trend in countries to allow citizens abroad to candidate in homeland elections from afar provides an interesting opportunity for understanding how international mobility and context influences ideas of representation among these emigrant candidates. In public debates, emigrant candidates are often portrayed as delegates of the emigrant constituencies. However, drawing on the paradigmatic case of Italy and an original data set comprising emigrant candidates, we show that the perceptions of styles of representation abroad are more complex. Systemic differences between electoral districts at home and abroad are relevant for explaining why and how candidates develop a trustee or delegate orientation.
The Impact of Splitting a Long Online Questionnaire on Data Quality.
Andreadis, I.; and Kartsounidou, E.
Survey Research Methods, 14(1): 31–42. April 2020.
Paper
doi
bibtex
abstract
1 download
@article{Andreadis,
title = {The {Impact} of {Splitting} a {Long} {Online} {Questionnaire} on {Data} {Quality}},
volume = {14},
issn = {1864-3361},
url = {https://ojs.ub.uni-konstanz.de/srm/article/view/7294},
doi = {10.18148/SRM/2020.V14I1.7294},
abstract = {Long self-administered questionnaires may suffer from lower response rates, higher drop-outs, and lower quality responses. A shorter questionnaire reduces the burden of respondents. Using this as a starting point, we test the following method: split the long questionnaire into sub-questionnaires; invite everyone to answer the first sub-questionnaire; when respondents complete the first sub-questionnaire, invite them to answer the second sub-questionnaire, and so on. We present evidence that after splitting a long questionnaire into two shorter parts, the response rates of these sub-questionnaires are significantly higher than the response rate of the original, undivided, long questionnaire. However, the cumulative response rate of both parts is lower than the response rate of the long undivided questionnaire. Finally, we show that the respondents of the survey using the original, long questionnaire: i) provide more non-substantive answers (“neither/nor”) to the Likert-type scale items and ii) give shorter answers to the open-ended questions of the survey than the respondents of the split survey. On the other hand, there is no significant difference between the long and the split questionnaire on the other indicators of response quality we have tested: item-nonresponse, speeding and straight-lining. This paper presents some first insights on splitting a long questionnaire into shorter parts. For now, the results are not promising to suggest with confidence to split the long questionnaire for the purpose of obtaining high data quality. Further research is needed to find the optimal interval time between the sub-questionnaires or the optimal length of the sub-questionnaires in which the overall response rate is maximized.},
number = {1},
urldate = {2020-04-17},
journal = {Survey Research Methods},
author = {Andreadis, Ioannis and Kartsounidou, Evangelia},
month = apr,
year = {2020},
keywords = {data quality, drop, long questionnaire, out, response rates, web surveys},
pages = {31--42},
}
Long self-administered questionnaires may suffer from lower response rates, higher drop-outs, and lower quality responses. A shorter questionnaire reduces the burden of respondents. Using this as a starting point, we test the following method: split the long questionnaire into sub-questionnaires; invite everyone to answer the first sub-questionnaire; when respondents complete the first sub-questionnaire, invite them to answer the second sub-questionnaire, and so on. We present evidence that after splitting a long questionnaire into two shorter parts, the response rates of these sub-questionnaires are significantly higher than the response rate of the original, undivided, long questionnaire. However, the cumulative response rate of both parts is lower than the response rate of the long undivided questionnaire. Finally, we show that the respondents of the survey using the original, long questionnaire: i) provide more non-substantive answers (“neither/nor”) to the Likert-type scale items and ii) give shorter answers to the open-ended questions of the survey than the respondents of the split survey. On the other hand, there is no significant difference between the long and the split questionnaire on the other indicators of response quality we have tested: item-nonresponse, speeding and straight-lining. This paper presents some first insights on splitting a long questionnaire into shorter parts. For now, the results are not promising to suggest with confidence to split the long questionnaire for the purpose of obtaining high data quality. Further research is needed to find the optimal interval time between the sub-questionnaires or the optimal length of the sub-questionnaires in which the overall response rate is maximized.
Parliamentary Candidates Between Voters and Parties: A Comparative Perspective.
De Winter, L.; Karlsen, R.; and Schmitt, H.,
editors.
Routledge, November 2020.
Paper
bibtex
abstract
@book{de_winter_parliamentary_2020,
title = {Parliamentary {Candidates} {Between} {Voters} and {Parties}: {A} {Comparative} {Perspective}},
url = {https://www.routledge.com/Parliamentary-Candidates-Between-Voters-and-Parties-A-Comparative-Perspective/Winter-Karlsen-Schmitt/p/book/9780367248512},
abstract = {This book offers the first comprehensive, comparative and coherent perspective on parliamentary candidates in contemporary representative democracy. Based on the unique database of the ‘Comparative Candidate Survey' project which interrogated parliamentary candidates in more than 30 countries, it fills a significant lacuna by focusing on the thousands of ordinary candidates that participate in national elections. It examines who the candidates are in terms of their socio-demographic backgroun},
language = {en},
publisher = {Routledge},
editor = {De Winter, Lieven and Karlsen, Rune and Schmitt, Hermann},
month = nov,
year = {2020},
}
This book offers the first comprehensive, comparative and coherent perspective on parliamentary candidates in contemporary representative democracy. Based on the unique database of the ‘Comparative Candidate Survey' project which interrogated parliamentary candidates in more than 30 countries, it fills a significant lacuna by focusing on the thousands of ordinary candidates that participate in national elections. It examines who the candidates are in terms of their socio-demographic backgroun
Political Representation in Southern Europe and Latin America.
Freire, A.; Barragán, M.; Coller, X.; Lisi, M.; and Tsatsanis, E.,
editors.
Routledge, 2020.
Paper
doi
bibtex
abstract
@book{freire_political_2020,
title = {Political {Representation} in {Southern} {Europe} and {Latin} {America}},
isbn = {978-0-429-40041-4},
url = {https://www.routledge.com/Political-Representation-in-Southern-Europe-and-Latin-America-Crisis-or/Freire-Barragan-Coller-Lisi-Tsatsanis/p/book/9780367022945},
abstract = {"This collective volume - with contributions from experts on these regions - examines broader questions about the current crises (The Great Recession and The Commodity Crisis) and the associated changes in political representation in both regions. It provides a general overview of political representation studies in Southern Europe and Latin America and builds bridges between the two traditions of political representation studies, affording greater understanding of developments in each region and promote future research collaboration between Southern Europe and Latin America. Finally, the book addresses questions of continuity and change in patterns of political representation after the onset of the two economic crises, specifically examining issues such as changes in citizens' democratic support and trust in political representatives and institutions, in-descriptive representation (in the sociodemographic profile of MPs) and in-substantive representation (in the link between voters and MPs in terms of ideological congruence and/or policy/issue orientations). This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of political elites, political representation, European and Latin American politics/studies, and more broadly to comparative politics"-- Introduction: The impact of the great recession and the commodity crisis upon political representation in Southern Europe and Latin America / André Freire, Mélany Barragán, Xavier Coller, Marco Lisi and Emmanouil Tsatsanis -- Southern Europe and the Eurozone crisis : political representation, party system characteristics and the impact of austerity / Marco Lisi and Emmanouil Tsatsanis -- The study of political representation in Greece : towards new patterns following the economic crisis? / Eftichia Teperoglou, Ioannis Andreadis and Theodore Chatzipantelis -- Modes of representation and parliamentary roles in Italy / Federico Russo and Luca Verzichelli -- Political representation in Portugal before and after the great recession : legitimation and ideological linkages between voters and their representatives / André Freire, Marco Lisi and Emmanouil Tsatsanis -- It is not the economy : how Spanish established political elites understand the (political) crisis and its effects / Xavier Coller, Manuel Jiménez-Sánchez and Manuel Portillo -- The social profile of Spanish elites following the great recession / Manuel Portillo-Pérez and Pablo Domínguez -- Methodological challenges in the study of political elites : some reflections from Southern Europe / André Freire, Xavier Coller, Ioannis Andreadis, Antonio M. Jaime, Sofia Serra-Silva and Evangelia Kartsounidou -- Latin American politics before and beyond the commodity crisis : representation, institutional design, and political cycles / Mélany Barragán and Manuel Alcántara -- Venezuela : changes and continuities in post-Chavez era / Juan Manuel Trak -- Political representation studies in Ecuador : links between elites and voters / Cristina Rivas, José Manuel Rivas and Alexandra Jima -- Political representation in Chile : continuities and change following the end of the commodities boom / Peter M. Siavelis -- Latin American parliamentary elites : a methodological approach / Mélany Barragán, Cristina Rivas and José Manuel Rivas.},
urldate = {2020-06-15},
publisher = {Routledge},
editor = {Freire, André and Barragán, Mélany and Coller, Xavier and Lisi, Marco and Tsatsanis, Emmanouil},
year = {2020},
doi = {10.4324/9780429400414},
}
"This collective volume - with contributions from experts on these regions - examines broader questions about the current crises (The Great Recession and The Commodity Crisis) and the associated changes in political representation in both regions. It provides a general overview of political representation studies in Southern Europe and Latin America and builds bridges between the two traditions of political representation studies, affording greater understanding of developments in each region and promote future research collaboration between Southern Europe and Latin America. Finally, the book addresses questions of continuity and change in patterns of political representation after the onset of the two economic crises, specifically examining issues such as changes in citizens' democratic support and trust in political representatives and institutions, in-descriptive representation (in the sociodemographic profile of MPs) and in-substantive representation (in the link between voters and MPs in terms of ideological congruence and/or policy/issue orientations). This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of political elites, political representation, European and Latin American politics/studies, and more broadly to comparative politics"– Introduction: The impact of the great recession and the commodity crisis upon political representation in Southern Europe and Latin America / André Freire, Mélany Barragán, Xavier Coller, Marco Lisi and Emmanouil Tsatsanis – Southern Europe and the Eurozone crisis : political representation, party system characteristics and the impact of austerity / Marco Lisi and Emmanouil Tsatsanis – The study of political representation in Greece : towards new patterns following the economic crisis? / Eftichia Teperoglou, Ioannis Andreadis and Theodore Chatzipantelis – Modes of representation and parliamentary roles in Italy / Federico Russo and Luca Verzichelli – Political representation in Portugal before and after the great recession : legitimation and ideological linkages between voters and their representatives / André Freire, Marco Lisi and Emmanouil Tsatsanis – It is not the economy : how Spanish established political elites understand the (political) crisis and its effects / Xavier Coller, Manuel Jiménez-Sánchez and Manuel Portillo – The social profile of Spanish elites following the great recession / Manuel Portillo-Pérez and Pablo Domínguez – Methodological challenges in the study of political elites : some reflections from Southern Europe / André Freire, Xavier Coller, Ioannis Andreadis, Antonio M. Jaime, Sofia Serra-Silva and Evangelia Kartsounidou – Latin American politics before and beyond the commodity crisis : representation, institutional design, and political cycles / Mélany Barragán and Manuel Alcántara – Venezuela : changes and continuities in post-Chavez era / Juan Manuel Trak – Political representation studies in Ecuador : links between elites and voters / Cristina Rivas, José Manuel Rivas and Alexandra Jima – Political representation in Chile : continuities and change following the end of the commodities boom / Peter M. Siavelis – Latin American parliamentary elites : a methodological approach / Mélany Barragán, Cristina Rivas and José Manuel Rivas.
Responsiveness when parties are “weak”: A candidate-based analysis of voter-party congruence in Europe.
Pedrazzani, A.; and Segatti, P.
Party Politics. October 2020.
Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd
Paper
doi
bibtex
abstract
2 downloads
@article{pedrazzani_responsiveness_2020,
title = {Responsiveness when parties are “weak”: {A} candidate-based analysis of voter-party congruence in {Europe}},
issn = {1354-0688},
url = {http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1354068820968091},
doi = {10.1177/1354068820968091},
abstract = {Outside the US, the crucial question of how well politicians represent the preferences of voters is usually investigated at the party level. Reversing this perspective, we examine representation in Europe from the point of view of individual candidates running in national parliamentary elections. This is especially insightful in a period that seems characterized by a decline in parties’ representational capacities and an increasing personalization of politics. We analyze representation by considering the incongruence between candidates’ left–right positions and the average placement of their party voters. By combining candidate survey data with mass survey data on voters, we assess how ideological incongruence varies according to predictors measured at the levels of candidates, parties, and party systems. The results highlight a systematic association between a partisan style of representation and candidates’ proximity to voters, as well as the interactions between representational roles and factors such as the anti-establishment nature of parties and ideological polarization in the party system.},
urldate = {2020-11-03},
journal = {Party Politics},
author = {Pedrazzani, Andrea and Segatti, Paolo},
month = oct,
year = {2020},
note = {Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd},
keywords = {Europe, candidates, congruence, left–right, political parties, representation},
}
Outside the US, the crucial question of how well politicians represent the preferences of voters is usually investigated at the party level. Reversing this perspective, we examine representation in Europe from the point of view of individual candidates running in national parliamentary elections. This is especially insightful in a period that seems characterized by a decline in parties’ representational capacities and an increasing personalization of politics. We analyze representation by considering the incongruence between candidates’ left–right positions and the average placement of their party voters. By combining candidate survey data with mass survey data on voters, we assess how ideological incongruence varies according to predictors measured at the levels of candidates, parties, and party systems. The results highlight a systematic association between a partisan style of representation and candidates’ proximity to voters, as well as the interactions between representational roles and factors such as the anti-establishment nature of parties and ideological polarization in the party system.