When long-distance relationships don't work out: representational distance and satisfaction with democracy in Europe
When long-distance relationships don't work out: representational distance and satisfaction with democracy in Europe
We assess the impact of party representation on satisfaction with democracy. Our proposition is that such representation is not only about having a chosen party in government; citizens also derive satisfaction from having their views represented by a political party. We test this through an individual-level measure of policy (in)congruence: the ideological distance between a voter and his or her closest party. Via multi-level modelling of European Election Study data from 1989 to 2009, we find that perceived policy distance matters: the further away that voters see themselves from their nearest party – on either a left-right or a European unification policy dimension – the less satisfied they are with democracy. Notably, this effect is not moderated by party incumbency or size. Voters derive satisfaction from feeling represented by a nearby party even if it is small and out of office. Our results caution against a purely outcomes-driven understanding of democratic satisfaction.
Elections, EU Politics and policy, Political parties, Public opinion, Quality of democracy, Representation and electoral systems, Voting behavior
van Egmond, Marcel
7a72d6b0-c78a-499d-b758-fedfc07f50c9
Johns, Robert
02861bc9-b704-49b1-bbc7-cf1c1e9b7a35
Brandenburg, Heinz
083c9392-6f13-49c7-8938-d7e8d5c67c33
11 June 2020
van Egmond, Marcel
7a72d6b0-c78a-499d-b758-fedfc07f50c9
Johns, Robert
02861bc9-b704-49b1-bbc7-cf1c1e9b7a35
Brandenburg, Heinz
083c9392-6f13-49c7-8938-d7e8d5c67c33
van Egmond, Marcel, Johns, Robert and Brandenburg, Heinz
(2020)
When long-distance relationships don't work out: representational distance and satisfaction with democracy in Europe.
Electoral Studies, 66, [102182].
(doi:10.1016/j.electstud.2020.102182).
Abstract
We assess the impact of party representation on satisfaction with democracy. Our proposition is that such representation is not only about having a chosen party in government; citizens also derive satisfaction from having their views represented by a political party. We test this through an individual-level measure of policy (in)congruence: the ideological distance between a voter and his or her closest party. Via multi-level modelling of European Election Study data from 1989 to 2009, we find that perceived policy distance matters: the further away that voters see themselves from their nearest party – on either a left-right or a European unification policy dimension – the less satisfied they are with democracy. Notably, this effect is not moderated by party incumbency or size. Voters derive satisfaction from feeling represented by a nearby party even if it is small and out of office. Our results caution against a purely outcomes-driven understanding of democratic satisfaction.
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Accepted/In Press date: 24 May 2020
e-pub ahead of print date: 11 June 2020
Published date: 11 June 2020
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Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd
Keywords:
Elections, EU Politics and policy, Political parties, Public opinion, Quality of democracy, Representation and electoral systems, Voting behavior
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 489681
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/489681
ISSN: 0261-3794
PURE UUID: 83fbad5a-33a3-4bdc-854a-855c1c00d5a7
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Date deposited: 30 Apr 2024 16:46
Last modified: 01 May 2024 02:10
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Author:
Marcel van Egmond
Author:
Robert Johns
Author:
Heinz Brandenburg
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