Nathalie Giger

Conditional Punishment : a comparative analysis of the electoral consequences of welfare state retrenchment in OECD Nations, 1980-2003

Do incumbent parties that retrench the welfare state lose votes during the next election? That is the guiding question for our paper. We analyse elections and social policy reforms in 18 established OECD democracies from 1980 to 2003. We show that there is no strong and systematic punishment for governments which cut back welfare state entitlements. The likelihood of losing votes is the same for governments that retrench the welfare state as for those that do not. Rather, electoral punishment is conditional on whether governments have the chance to stretch retrenchment over a longer period of time, and whether social policy cuts are made an issue in the electoral campaign. If other political parties and the mass media do not put the theme on the agenda of the campaign, and if the retrenchment can be carried out in small steps during a longer governmental term, governments may considerably reduce welfare state effort without fear of major electoral consequences.

Towards a modern gender gap in Europe?: A comparative analysis of voting behavior in 12 countries

Abstract This article examines electoral gender differences in Western Europe. It describes the electoral gender gap in a longitudinal cross-national design (1974–2000, 12 countries) with EuroBarometer data. The analysis shows that gender differences in voting in Europe follow a similar movement to what has been described for the USA. Women tended to vote more for conservative parties in the 1970s, while in the new millennium they have given higher support to left parties. The speed of this development differs cross-nationally and not all countries reached the state of a modern gender gap (where women lean left). At the national level the driving force for the emergence of a modern gender gap is mainly increased levels of female labor participation. At the individual level structural variables explain traditional gender differences in voting, but fail to account for the gender gap in recent years.

THE POOR POLITICAL REPRESENTATION OF THE POOR IN A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE

Due to diverging levels of political influence of various income groups, political institutions likely reflect the policy preferences of certain groups of citizens better than others, independently of their numerical weight. This runs counter the egalitarian principle of ‘one citizen, one vote’. The present article documents a general trend of underrepresentation of the preferences of relatively poor citizens both by parties and by governments across Western democracies, although important cross-national differences exist.

More Money, Fewer Problems? Cross-Level Effects of Economic Deprivation on Political Representation

While equal political representation of all citizens is a fundamental democratic goal, it is hampered empirically in a multitude of ways. This study examines how the societal level of economic inequality affects the representation of relatively poor citizens by parties and governments. Using CSES survey data for citizens’ policy preferences and expert placements of political parties, empirical evidence is found that in economically more unequal societies, the party system represents the preferences of relatively poor citizens worse than in more equal societies. This moderating effect of economic equality is also found for policy congruence between citizens and governments, albeit slightly less clear-cut.

Mind the gap: Do proportional electoral systems foster a more equal representation of women and men, poor and rich?

Female gender and low income are two markers for groups that have been historically disadvantaged within most societies. The study explores two research questions related to their political representation: (1) ‘Are parties biased towards the ideological preferences of male and rich citizens?’; and (2) ‘Does the proportionality of the electoral system moderate the degree of under-representation of women and poor citizens in the party system?’ A multilevel analysis of survey data from 24 parliamentary democracies indicates that there is some bias against those with low income and, at a much smaller rate, women. This has systemic consequences for the quality of representation, as the preferences of the complementary groups differ. The proportionality of the electoral system influences the degree of under-representation: specifically, larger district magnitudes help in closing the considerable gap between rich and poor.

INEQUALITY AND REPRESENTATION IN EUROPE

‘Representative democracy’ is the dominant form of government in the West and spreads, from the United States and Europe, to the rest of the world. While ‘representative democracy’ grows ‘abroad’, what happens ‘at home’? To what extent does this largely praised regime fulfil its purpose(s)? The present collection of articles seeks to answer this question by focusing on the equality of representation as one important aspect that defines the quality of representative democracy. Unequal representation is critical, as it contrasts sharply with the principles of a fully democratic society, where all members have an equal right to have their voices heard. If some citizens’ views get unequally expressed, or if the preferences and wishes of certain subgroups are systematically neglected by the political elites, this means that representative democracy in Europe does not live up to its ideal. To empirically scrutinise the fulfilment of this democratic ideal, the present issue examines different forms of representative linkages as well as several subgroups within society and thus broadens our knowledge of the various forms of inequality in representation that exist in Europe. The scientific inquiries presented here are also of practical relevance for the functioning of modern democracy, because pronounced representational inequalities may make citizens alienated from the political system. As a consequence, they might turn out less frequently to vote, be less involved in political activities and trust less in democracy, political institutions or politicians—all of which directly affect the quality of democracy. Given that our normative views of democracy impact our understanding of what political representation actually entails (Thomassen 1994) and how egalitarian it should be, we begin by clarifying the concepts composing the widely used term ‘representative democracy’. We proceed with elaborating on our understanding of ‘inequality’ in the context of representation studies. Next, we introduce each contribution to this special issue. In our concluding section, we discuss the lessons learnt based on the studies included in this special issue and pose questions for further research in the field.

I the People? Self-interest and demand for government responsiveness

Whether elected representatives should be responsive to the wishes of the majority of citizens has been an issue often discussed from a normative perspective. This article shifts the focus by looking at the determinants of support for responsiveness among citizens. Its core argument is that attitudes toward responsiveness vary systematically depending on the policy gains an individual can expect from a government that is responsive to the preferences of the majority of citizens. The analysis of data from the European Social Survey and 21 countries confirms these expectations. Individuals whose ideological stances are reflected well by the incumbent government are less favorable to the idea that governments should be responsive to the preferences of the majority, while one’s proximity to the ideological location of the median citizen increases the odds of support for majority responsiveness. Our findings are stable across a large variety of European democracies.

Who leads the party? On membership size, selectorates and party oligarchy

We examine the degree to which party leaders dominate their parties over time and across countries and analyse how leadership domination relates to formal aspects of party organisation. Moreover, we analyse whether antidotes against leadership domination – widening the selectorate and increasing the membership – explain change in leadership domination. For this purpose, we use a new dataset that brings together different sources of party data over time and between countries. We find that leadership domination indeed has increased over time, but still a lot of variation exists between parties. We also demonstrate that widening the selectorate – for example, letting members elect the party leader – and increasing membership boosts leadership domination. In other words, the antidotes against leadership domination do not work.

Electoral Participation in Pursuit of Policy Representation: Ideological Congruence and Voter Turnout

Abstract In this article, we examine whether lack of ideological congruence with the viable party options discourages turnout, and under which conditions. We conceive congruence from the perspective of the individual citizen, and, drawing on policy-based arguments for non-voting, we hypothesize that: having no party in the political menu sharing similar views should especially reduce turnout of citizens holding extremist views and that this effect would be greatest in proportional electoral systems. Relying on data collected by the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES), we show that lack of congruence with the electoral menu reduces extremists’ turnout and does so particularly in PR systems.

How economic crises affect political representation: declining party‒voter congruence in times of constrained government

Abstract How do economic crises affect political representation in times of constrained government? Our paper shows that among voters salience of economic issues increases during economically harsh times. However, parties respond only to a limited degree to economic shocks, with the result that congruence between parties and voters decreases. We theorise the incentives and disincentives different political parties have in choosing a saliency strategy and we provide evidence on the extent to which congruence depends on the severity of economic shocks and the government/opposition status of the party. We draw on cross-national data to measure issue salience for parties (CMP) and voters (CSES). While our findings clearly indicate a decline of congruence in times of economic crisis, we also find that it remains best for government and office-seeking opposition parties. We substantiate this finding by unpacking the ways in which incumbent and office-seeking opposition parties address the economy in their manifestos.