Eftichia Teperoglou

‘Dealignment, de-legitimation and the implosion of the two-party system in Greece: The earthquake election of 6 May 2012’

Abstract This article examines the political effects of the global economic recession on Greece in the period from 2010 up to the last weeks of the campaign period for the national elections of 6 May 2012. Our objectives are threefold. First we seek to contextualize its impact and show how the Greek party system departed from the nearly three decades of stability after 2009 and entered a period electoral fluidity and dealignment. Second we identify the demographic and structural characteristics of that dealignment process. Finally we interpret and compare the effect of the economic crisis and other issues on vote choice in the 2012 general election.

The 2014 European Parliament Elections in Southern Europe: Second-Order or Critical Elections?

The article provides a comparative analysis of the 2014 European Parliament elections across the six countries of Southern Europe by gauging the performance of the second-order election model. Both the aggregate hypotheses of this model and evidence of micro-level foundations are analysed. The findings reveal that the political and electoral consequences of the economic crisis have not drastically challenged the second-order character of these elections in Southern Europe. However, electoral behaviour also exhibits some indications of a more critical contest.

European Elections and National Politics: Lessons from the “New” Southern European Democracies

Considering the “new” Southern European democracies (Greece, Portugal and Spain), this article has three main objectives. First, the article tests the short‐term and the long‐term impacts of national factors on voting behaviour in European Parliament (EP) elections. Second, the article evaluates the specificity of voting behaviour in EP elections, vis‐à‐vis voting behaviour in first‐order contests, namely, in terms of the extent to which the opportunities for defection in EP elections are in fact used by voters. Last but not least, the article analyses the impact of voting behaviour in EP elections on the anchors of partisanship in new democracies. Due to their second‐order nature, EP elections provide opportunities for defection without major consequences for the (national) political system. However, in new democracies, especially in the first decades of the new regimes, defection can be disturbing for the consolidation of ties between electors and political parties and, consequently, for the stabilization of the party system. By studying the “new” Southern European democracies in their first three decades of democracy (1970s–2004), we may learn lessons about the impact of EP elections upon the stabilization of the anchors of partisanship in new democracies more generally.

Realignment under Stress: The July 2015 Referendum and the September Parliamentary Election in Greece

Abstract The victory of the radical-left SYRIZA in the September 2015 election confounded expectations given the failure of the SYRIZA–ANEL government formed in January either to deliver on its central promise of reversing austerity policies or to capitalise on its major victory in the July referendum. The article examines both the election and the referendum that preceded it, offering an explanation for SYRIZA’s victory. It also attempts to trace the trajectory of the current party system in Greece and its ongoing realignment process in light of the 2015 electoral contests and the busy political timeline since the formation of the first SYRIZA–ANEL government.

Elites' and Voters' Attitudes towards Austerity Policies and their Consequences in Greece and Portugal

This article analyses the attitudes of the political elite and voters in Greece and Portugal vis-à-vis the Troika bailouts, austerity policies and the attribution of responsibilities for the crisis. Using both elite and mass surveys with similar questions, the article explores to what extent the elites and voters share similar attitudes, what might explain possible differences between these two groups and between the two countries and what this information can tell us about the quality of political representation in Greece and Portugal. The differences between the countries are explained mainly by the severity of the crisis and austerity policies in each country, but also by the diversity of political conditions.

Awakening the Sleeping Giant in Greece and Portugal? Elites' and Voters' Attitudes towards EU Integration in Difficult Economic Times

This article explores the extent to which the economic crisis and political responses of the European Union (EU) to austerity policies have contributed to Euroscepticism in Greece and Portugal. We analyse attitudes towards the EU at both voter and elite levels using fresh and innovative data, and by comparing them with data from surveys conducted before the crisis we show assessments of austerity and the bailouts are feeding elite and voter Euroscepticism. In both countries there are signs of a crisis of representation with greater voter–elite incongruence in the representation of EU issues than before the bailout.

Habituating to the New Normal in a Post-earthquake Party System: The 2014 European Election in Greece

The article examines the 2014 European election in Greece. Held two years after the double-earthquake elections of 2012 and with the country still mired in a protracted economic crisis, our findings largely support the conclusion that the post-‘earthquake’ European election of 2014 can be classified as one of the most classic second-order elections in the history of Greek elections. Both ideology and attribution of blame for the ongoing economic crisis to the PASOK (Panhellenic Socialist Movement) and ND (New Democracy) governments to a large extent explain the victory of SYRIZA (Coalition of the Radical Left). At the same time, however, more fundamental positions towards European unification appear to have become more relevant to party choice for the first time since the early 1980s.

A new divide? The impact of globalization on national party systems

This article contributes to the ongoing discussion concerning the impact of globalisation and European integration on the structure of ideological space in Western Europe. The empirical investigation is based on an examination of Euromanifestos data from four European countries – Germany, United Kingdom, Greece and Portugal – for a time frame of up to 30 years. The findings largely support the hypothesis of a transformation of the content of the standard cultural axis due to the emergence of conflicts over the desirability for regional and/or global integration. However, this transformation occurs in different ways and by different actors across national contexts. Whereas in the United Kingdom and Germany objections against ongoing integration processes have been mainly articulated by political parties of the conservative and populist right, in Greece and Portugal left-wing political parties emerge as the main representatives of the anti-integration camp.

A Chance to Blame the Government? The 2009 European Election in Southern Europe

This article focuses on the 2009 European Parliament elections in Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus and Malta. First, it presents the general background and key issues of the electoral campaigns in these six countries. Second, it tries to answer the question of whether or not these elections in Southern Europe conform to the theoretical framework of the national second-order election model. The major conclusion is that the hypotheses of this model are partially confirmed.

Media and campaign effects on vote choice at national elections in Europe: A review of a multilingual research landscape Medien- und Kampagneneffekte auf Wahlentscheidungen bei nationalen Hauptwahlen in Europa: Literaturbericht über eine vielsprachige Forschungslandschaft

This article reviews the empirical research literature on campaign and media effects on vote choice at national elections in European countries for the post-World War II period. Particular efforts are undertaken to obtain a comprehensive picture by including publications in many different languages. With regard to the amount of research, but also the topics addressed, the survey reveals considerable differences between countries. Studies of campaign effects have focused on the temporal dynamics of campaigns, on the modes of campaign communications (such as personal contacts at the local level, advertising on TV and in the press or online social media) and on certain aspects of its content. Research on media effects has explored the role of partisan bias and certain topical categories of news (climate of opinion, issue and candidate coverage) as well as specific new media formats, notably televised candidate debates and vote advice applications (VAA). Overall, the review reveals that there is little in the way of an integrated and consolidated body of campaign and media effects research on national elections in Europe. While political communication research increasingly acknowledges the potential importance of news media and political parties’ electioneering for voting behaviour, there appears as of yet to be little convergence regarding approaches and research findings. Particularly striking is the degree to which research questions are guided by national institutional contexts.