How Issue Salience Pushes Voters to the Left or to the Right
(2020) Politics of the Low Countries — Vol. 2, n° 3 (2020)
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- Abstract
- Recent research demonstrates that political parties in western Europe are generally structured along one dimension – and often take more or less similar ideological positions on the economic and cultural dimension – whereas the policy preferences of voters are structured two dimensionally; a considerable part of the electorate combines left-wing stances on one dimension with right-wing stances on the other. These ideologically ‘unserved’ voters are the main focus of this study. Using data from a large-scale survey in Flanders and Wallonia, we demonstrate how the sali‐ ence of the two dimensions explains whether these unserved voters ultimately end up voting for a right-wing or a left-wing party. Specifically, we show that these vot‐ ers elect a party that is ideologically closest on the dimension that they deem most important at that time. To summarise, the findings of this study confirm that sali‐ ence is a key driver of electoral choice, especially for cross-pressured voters.
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Citations
Stefaan Walgrave, Patrick van Erkel, Isaïa Jennart, Jonas Lefevere, & Baudewyns, P. (2020). How Issue Salience Pushes Voters to the Left or to the Right. Politics of the Low Countries, 2(3). https://doi.org/10.5553/PLC/258999292020002003005 (Original work published 2020)