European University Institute Library

Voters on the move or on the run?, edited by Bernhard Wessels, Hans Rattinger, Sigrid Rossteutscher, Rüdiger Schmitt-Beck

eng

Includes bibliographical references

no index present

non fiction

Voters on the move or on the run?

872701993

edited by Bernhard Wessels, Hans Rattinger, Sigrid Rossteutscher, Rüdiger Schmitt-Beck

Voters on the Move or on the Run? addresses electoral change, the reasons, and the consequences. By investigating heterogeneity of voting, and complexity of voting and its context the volume shows that increasing heterogeneity is not arbitrary and unstructured. Heterogeneity of voting rather is a way of voters dealing with the increasing complexity of the context of elections - diversified social structures, increasing differentiation of political supply, increasing complexity of the information environment. By analysing the conditions of heterogeneity and showing that the calculus of voting becomes more and more conditional in terms of what voters regard as relevant criteria for vote choice, the book demonstrates that the new feature of electoral behaviour is structured heterogeneity. The dimensions of differentiation of the electorate are cognitive capacity and the structure of individual information acquisition systems. The book demonstrates that voters are on the move looking for appropriate answers to new complexities rather than on the run. The book uses data predominantly from the German Longitudinal Election Study (GLES), and also comparative data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES). Cross-sectional analysis is complemented by long- and short-term dynamic analyses with panel data, and comparative analyses.--, Provided by Publisher

Part I: Introduction 1: Bernhard Weßels, Hans Rattinger, Sigrid Roßteutscher & Rüdiger Schmitt-Beck: The Changing Context and Outlook of Voting 2: Jan Eric Blumenstiel: Voter Fragmentation and the Differentiation of Vote Functions Part II: Increasing Heterogeneity of Voting 3: Aiko Wagner: Party Specific Vote Functions 4: Sascha Huber: Coalitions and Voting Behavior in a Differentiating Multi-party System 5: Sigrid Roßteutscher, Ina Bieber & Philipp Scherer: Voting Complexity in a Multi-layered System. Or: How Voting Choices in Second-order Elections Impact the Stability of Party Identification 6: Heiko Giebler: Contextualizing Turnout and Party Choice: Electoral Behaviour on Different Political Levels 7: Heiko Giebler, Bernhard Weßels & Andreas Wüst: Does Personal Campaigning Make a Difference? Part III: Increasing Complexity and Voting 8: Sigrid Roßteutscher & Daniel Stegmueller: Network Politicization and Political Integration: From Grand Cleavages to Private Network Structures 9: Rüdiger Schmitt-Beck & Patrick Kraft: Political Information Flows and Consistent Voting: Personal Conversations, Mass Media, Party Campaigns and the Quality of Voting Decisions at the 2009 German Federal Election 10: Richard Johnston, Julia Partheymüller & Rüdiger Schmitt-Beck: Activation of Fundamentals in German Campaigns 11: Bernhard Weßels: Voters' Motivations: How and Why Short-term Factors Grow in Importance 12: Markus Steinbrecher: Are Alienation and Indifference the New Features of Elections? 13: Hans Rattinger & Elena Wiegand: Volatility on the Rise? Attitudinal Stability, Attitudinal Change, and Voter Volatility Part IV: Conclusion 14: Bernhard Weßels, Hans Rattinger, Sigrid Roßteutscher & Rüdiger Schmitt-Beck: Voters on the Move or on the Run? References