Corruption and the Disparty in Levels of Political Support by Winners and Losers

2007 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 507-518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Herreros ◽  
Henar Criado
Keyword(s):  
Political Corruption ◽  
National Sample ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Base De Données ◽  
Institutional Structures ◽  
High Level ◽  
Cross National

Abstract.Recent analyses of the determinants of levels of political support have stressed the role of institutions in producing the disparity in support by the winners and losers of an election. The authors claim that it is not only the countries' institutional structures that matter in determining this disparity but also how the institutions work. Specifically, they claim that the disparity between winners and losers is greater in countries with a high level of political corruption. They test this hypothesis in a cross-national sample from the European Social Survey Database.Résumé.Des analyses récentes des déterminants de l'appui politique ont souligné le rôle des institutions dans la dynamique de l'écart entre l'appui politique accordé aux vainqueurs et aux perdants d'une élection. Les auteurs avancent que la structure institutionelle du pays n'est pas l'unique variable d'importance pour expliquer l'écart entre vainqueurs et perdants, mais que le fonctionnement des institutions est aussi un facteur déterminant. Ils soutiennent plus précisément que l'écart entre vainqueurs et perdants sera plus grand dans les pays où la corruption est fortement ancrée dans les milieux politiques. Ils vérifient leur hypothèse à l'aide d'un échantillon de la base de données de l'enquête sociale européenne (European Social Survey).

Political Support

2007 ◽  
Vol 40 (12) ◽  
pp. 1511-1532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henar Criado ◽  
Francisco Herreros
Keyword(s):  
Political Institutions ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Attribution Of Responsibility ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Individual Variables ◽  
The Government

The analysis of the causes of political support for political institutions has been focused either on one-case studies that stress the relevance of individual variables or cross-national studies that stress the role of institutions. In this article, the authors suggest that to understand the logic of political support, it is necessary to combine both types of explanations. Using evidence from 17 European countries of the 2002 to 2003 European Social Survey data set, the authors show that the effect of the performance of the institution on political support is higher in majoritarian democracies, where the attribution of responsibility for policy outcomes is clear, than in proportional democracies. They also show that the effect of ideology on political support depends on the type of democracy: Those citizens ideologically far from the government will show higher levels of political support in proportional democracies than in majoritarian ones.

Social Capital and the Development of Political Support in Europe

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Hooghe ◽  
Anna Kern
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Basic Assumption ◽  
Voluntary Associations ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
The One ◽  
Democratic Norms

This chapter evaluates the claim that the decline of legitimacy is due to a decline of social capital. The idea that voluntary associations play an important role in establishing social cohesion and political support is a traditional insight in the field of political sociology. The basic assumption is that voluntary associations function as a training ground for democracy, where citizens involved acquire democratic norms and skills that they subsequently apply in their relation with the political system. If this argument is correct, political support should be at least partly influenced by citizens’ participation in civil society organizations. Using European Social Survey data from 2006 and 2012 the authors demonstrate that there is a clear and significant correlation between social involvement on the one hand and satisfaction with the working of democracy and political trust on the other, which largely survives the introduction of a range of control variables.

scholarly journals Regional Variation in Inequality of Educational Opportunity across Europe

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 237802312110198
Author(s):  
Bastian A. Betthäuser ◽  
Caspar Kaiser ◽  
Nhat An Trinh
Keyword(s):  
Regional Variation ◽  
Educational Opportunity ◽  
Large Body ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Regional Level ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
National Differences ◽  
Inequality Of Educational Opportunity ◽  
Cross National

A large body of literature documents cross-national variation in the level of inequality of educational opportunity (IEO) among children from different social backgrounds. By contrast, relatively little attention has been given to the extent to which IEO varies within counties and across regions. On the basis of data from the European Social Survey, the authors map variation in IEO across regions in Europe and show that IEO varies substantially within counties. This visualization of the heterogeneity of IEO within European countries highlights the need for researchers and policy makers to extend the current focus on cross-national differences and to investigate and address IEO at the regional level. The visualization raises important questions with respect to the contours, causes, and consequences of cross-regional variation in IEO.

Social protests, discontent and politics in southern and eastern Europe

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria da Paz Campos Lima ◽  
Antonio Martín Artiles
Keyword(s):  
Political Institutions ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Contentious Politics ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Social Protests

Taking into consideration the debate on the role of social movements and of trade unions in organising social protests, in the light of contentious and conventional politics, this article examines participation in demonstrations in Europe and the political attitudes of the participants. The article uses data from the European Social Survey to examine the differences and similarities between European countries in respect of mobilisation levels over the past decade, arguing that distrust and dissatisfaction with political institutions might be a necessary condition but not a sufficient one to justify resorting to contentious politics. The article reveals the contrasts between the levels of mobilisation in southern European countries (Portugal and Spain) and Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries (Hungary and Poland) and examines the patterns and (re)configuration of the profile of the protestors in the 2002–2014 period.

scholarly journals The Relationship Between Age and Happiness Varies by Income

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimiter Toshkov
Keyword(s):  
Income Distribution ◽  
Old Age ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Demographic Variables ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThe link between age and happiness has been the subject of numerous studies. It is still a matter of controversy whether the relationship is U-shaped, with happiness declining after youth before bouncing back in old age, or not. While the effect of age has been examined conditional on income and other socio-demographic variables, so far, the interactions between age and income have remained insufficiently explored. Using data from the European Social Survey, this article shows that the nature of the relationship between age and happiness varies strongly with different levels of relative income. People in the lowest decile of the income distribution experience a ‘hockey stick’: a deep decline in self-reported happiness until around age 50–55 and a small bounce back in old age. The classic U-curve is found mostly in the middle-income ranks. For people at the top of the income distribution, average happiness does not vary much with age. These results demonstrate the important role of income in moderating the relationship between age and happiness.

Living in A Non–Communist versus in A Post–Communist European Country Moderates the Relation between Conservative Values and Political Orientation: A Multilevel Study

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Barni ◽  
Alessio Vieno ◽  
Michele Roccato
Keyword(s):  
European Social Survey ◽  
Political Orientation ◽  
Communist Country ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Personality Psychology ◽  
Communist Past ◽  
Conservative Values ◽  
Moderating Role

We performed a multilevel, multinational analysis using the 2012 European Social Survey dataset (N = 41 080, nested in 20 countries) to study how living in a non–communist versus in a post–communist country moderates the link between individual conservative values (drawn on Schwartz's theory of basic human values) and political orientation (assessed as self–placement on the left–right axis and attitude towards economic redistribution). The results supported the moderating role of living in a non–communist versus in a post–communist country in the case both of political self–placement and of attitude towards economic redistribution, even controlling for the countries’ degree of individualism, power distance and democracy. Specifically, conservative values were positively related to a rightist political self–placement among participants living in countries without a communist past, and to a favourable attitude towards economic redistribution in countries with a communist past. The limitations, implications and future directions of this study are discussed. Copyright © 2016 European Association of Personality Psychology

Identity Politics or Economics? Explaining Voter Support for Hungary’s Illiberal FIDESZ

2020 ◽  
pp. 088832542095453
Author(s):  
Bermond Scoggins
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
Identity Politics ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Third Wave ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Checks And Balances ◽  
Or Economics ◽  
Party Support

This article tests cultural and economic explanations of why the longest surviving illiberal government in Central Europe, Hungary’s FIDESZ, has maintained popular support throughout two elections despite dismantling institutional checks and balances. Much of the literature on illiberalism in Central Europe attributes the appeal and successes of these governments to the brand of identity politics and rhetorical vilification of “others” practiced by their leaders. Yet the role of economic growth, a strong determinant of voter behaviour, has received little theoretical attention in accounting for illiberal party support. Using five rounds of European Social Survey data from 2010 to 2018, I show that economic satisfaction rather than a host of cultural factors, notably anti-migrant and anti-European Union attitudes, better predicts support for FIDESZ and satisfaction with government. I examine the implications of these results for understanding and conceptualising voter behaviour under backsliding. Voters may not understand what backsliding is and therefore are unable to penalise it or they may take information about backsliding into account and judge backsliding to be the price of prosperity. These findings and the discussion of voter behaviour raise important questions about the role of economic growth in sustaining illiberalism in Central Europe and other third wave democracies.

scholarly journals Health and political efficacy in context: What is the role of the welfare state?

2019 ◽  
Vol 60 (6) ◽  
pp. 435-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Shore ◽  
Carolin Rapp ◽  
Daniel Stockemer
Keyword(s):  
Multilevel Models ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Political Efficacy ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Health Differences ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Relationship

Health affects nearly all facets of our lives, including the likelihood of getting involved in politics. Focusing on political efficacy, we zoom in on one potential mechanism as to why people in poor health might, for example, stay at home on Election Day. We first look at the ways in which health is related to both people’s perceptions of their abilities to take part in politics (internal political efficacy) as well as the extent to which they believe policymakers are responsive to citizen needs (external political efficacy). Second, we examine how the social policy context intervenes in the relationship between health and political efficacy. Multilevel models using 2014 and 2016 European Social Survey data on roughly 57,000 respondents nested in 21 European countries reveal complex results: while good health, rather unsurprisingly, fosters internal and external political efficacy, more generous welfare states, though associated with higher levels of political efficacy, are not a panacea for remedying political inequalities stemming from individual health differences.

scholarly journals Is it All about the Economy? Government Fractionalization, Economic Performance and Satisfaction with Democracy across Europe, 2002−13

2015 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elina Kestilä-Kekkonen ◽  
Peter Söderlund
Keyword(s):  
Economic Performance ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Power Sharing ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Satisfaction With Democracy ◽  
Dominant Party ◽  
Coalition Governments ◽  
Government Power

While previous research has generally shown that economic performance is an important predictor of satisfaction with democracy, differences between political systems on the majoritarian-consensual dimension have not been as marked as expected. What has been neglected in previous studies is how the interaction between economic performance and type of power-sharing arrangement co-produce democratic satisfaction. This study uses multiple rounds of data from the European Social Survey between 2002 and 2013 involving 31 countries. The results show that short-term changes in economic performance and government fractionalization interactively increase or decrease levels of political support. The effect of economic performance on satisfaction with democracy becomes weaker the more fractionalized a government is. Satisfaction with how democracy works in a country remains relatively high in systems with fractionalized coalition governments when the economy is performing poorly. But when the economy performs extraordinarily well, satisfaction with democracy is even higher in countries with a dominant party in charge of government power.

scholarly journals Are anti-immigrant attitudes the Holy Grail of populists? : A comparative analysis of attitudes towards immigrants, values, and political populism in Europe

Intersections ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 100-127
Author(s):  
Vera Messing ◽  
Bence Ságvári
Keyword(s):  
European Social Survey ◽  
Political Orientation ◽  
Human Values ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Competition Theory ◽  
Level Model ◽  
Right Wing Populism ◽  
And Migration

In this paper we aim to discuss attitudes towards immigrants in a European context and analyse drivers of anti-immigrant attitudes such as the feeling of control, basic human values, political orientation and preferences related to right-wing populism. Based on data from the European Social Survey, we first describe how attitudes of people in Europe changed throughout a period of almost two decades (between 2002 and 2018). We will show that although attitudes are influenced by a number of demographic and subjective features of individuals, on the macro-level they seem to be surprisingly stable, yet hide significant cross-country differences. Then, we zoom in to the three most significant elements influencing attitudes towards immigrants: the feeling of control, basic human values, and political orientation. Applying a multi-level model we test the validity of three theories about factors informing attitudes towards immigrants—competition theory, locus of control, and the role of basic human values—and include time (pre- and post-2015 refugee-crisis periods) into the analysis. In the discussion we link ESS data to recent research on populism in Europe that categorizes populist parties across the continent, and establish that the degree to which anti-migrant feelings are linked to support for political populism varies significantly across European countries. We show that right-wing populist parties gather and feed that part of the population which is very negative towards migrants and migration in general, and this process is also driven by the significance awarded the value of security vis-à-vis humanitarianism.

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