electoral behaviour

Question 1

what are the two classic theories of electoral behaviour?

Answer 1

1. party identification

2. political cleavage

Question 2

what is the party identification theory also known as?

Answer 2

michigan school of eb

psychological theory of voting

Question 3

what does the party identification theory argue?

Answer 3

the more one identifies with a party, more likely that they will vote for that party

Question 4

what effect does party identification have on the voter?

Answer 4

organizing divide for political evaluation and judgements and device for mobilization

Question 5

what effect does party identification have on the system?

Answer 5

stabilization of electoral behavior

Question 6

what are the sources of party identification? (3)

Answer 6

socialization institutions, type of party system or registration requirements

Question 7

problems with party identification?

Answer 7

works well in the us but not in europe because there people identify more with social groups rather than parties

Question 8

what is the political cleavage theory also known as?

Answer 8

sociological theory or social group theory of voting

Question 9

2 political scientists working on political cleavages

Answer 9

lipset and rokken

Question 10

3 conditions for a relevant cleavage

Answer 10

1. social division
2. collective identity (being aware-sharing a sense of belonging)
3. organizational expression (being encapsulated in an org)

Question 11

2 main sources of political cleavage

Answer 11

1. national revolution

2. industrial revolution

Question 12

2 cleavages under national revolution

Answer 12

center x periphery

church x state

Question 13

2 cleavages under industrial revolution

Answer 13

urban x rural

owner x worker

Question 14

cross cutting cleavages in europe led to a….

Answer 14

multiparty system

Question 15

effects of political cleavages on voters

Answer 15

formation of strong collective political identities

Question 16

effects of political cleavages on the system

Answer 16

stabilization and formation of different party systems

Question 17

alford index of class voting

Answer 17

if we assess workers voting preferences across countries, we can see that nowadays class as an indicator has been eroding. more working class people aren’t voting left

Question 18

structural reasons for the declining importance of religion and class

Answer 18

1. post industrial society changed the way production is organized that we no longer see it as a united whole.
2. importance of mass media
3. new types of divisions like immigration

Question 19

what do the party identification and political cleavage theories share? (3)

Answer 19

1. emphasis on stability and predictability of electoral behaviour
2. emphasis on long term factors underpinning electoral behaviour
3. general theories of electoral behaviour

Question 20

consequences of voter dealignment (3)

Answer 20

1. increased volatility
2. increased fragmentation
3. split ticket voting

Question 21

rational choice theory

Answer 21

if the effort of voting is low, and the benefits are high- turnout will be higher

Question 22

what are the 3 main patterns of electoral voting?

Answer 22

1. issue voting
2. political leaders
3. new cleavages

Question 23

valence issues

Answer 23

we agree on whether it is good or bad - we vote for parties based on their capacities to deal with it

Question 24

position issues

Answer 24

taking a stance like abortion

Question 25

new cleavage politics (2)

Answer 25

1. center vs periphery (winners and losers of globalization)

2. post materialism vs materialism