Electoral Behaviour Flashcards
what are the two classic theories on electoral behaviour?
-party identification theory
-political cleavage theory
what is meant by party identification?
a measure of the association people have with a political party (based on long-term psychological identification)
what are the sources of party identification?
-socialisation
-institutions
what is a problem with party identification?
it is better suited for the US rather than Europe, because in Europe people identify with social groups instead of parties
what are the effects of party identification on voters?
-organising device for political evaluation and judgements
-device of political mobilisation
what are the effects of party identifications on the system?
stabilises electoral behaviour and makes it more predictable
what does political cleavage theory mainly say about electoral behaviour?
electoral behaviour is the result of underlying cleavage structures of societies
what are the origins of these underlying cleavage structures that shape societal electoral behaviour according to political cleavage theory?
they are the product of long historical processes
which three important factors constitute a cleavage?
- social division
- collective identity
- organisational expression
what are the two main sources of cleavages?
- national revolutions
- the Industrial Revolution
what are the four key political cleavages?
owner - worker
church - state
urban - rural
centre - periphery
what are the effects of cleavages on voters?
-organising device for political evaluation and judgements
-formation of strong collective political identities
what are the effects of cleavages on the system?
-stabilises electoral behaviour and makes it more predictable
-formation of (different) party systems
what do both party identification theory and political cleavage theory have in common?
- An emphasis on stability and predictability of electoral behaviour
- An emphasis on long-term factors underpinning electoral behaviour
- General theories of electoral behaviour
what is dealignment?
a decline in party loyalty that reduces long-term party commitment
what are the main consequences of dealignment?
-increased electoral volatility
-increase in fragmentation of party systems
-split ticket voting
-increased importance of electoral campaigns
what are the two new patterns of electoral behaviour?
- Issue voting
- New cleavage politics
what is issue voting?
when choosing candidates, voters no longer rely on parties but rather on positions and valence issues
what are new cleavage politics?
traditional cleavages have been replaced by newer ones (Silent Revolution)
what is the new centre-periphery cleavage?
losers of modernisation vs. winners of the modern economic system
