Sibling rivalry: Voters for radical left parties and their competitors in Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands

2021 ◽  
pp. 135406882110350
Author(s):  
Michael A. Hansen ◽  
Jonathan Olsen
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Sibling Rivalry ◽  
Role Of Government ◽  
Attitudes Toward Immigrants ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Satisfaction With Democracy ◽  
Income Disparities ◽  
Political Spectrum ◽  
Radical Left

This article analyzes voters for Radical Left Parties (RLPs) in three countries—Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Belonging to the democratic socialist subtype of RLPs, parties in these countries find themselves in an intense “sibling rivalry” with social democratic and green parties for voters on the left side of the political spectrum. There is little existing scholarly analysis of the demand-side of RLPs in competition with their competitors. We fill this gap using the European Social Survey (ESS), testing various demographic and attitudinal variables to disentangle the vote on the left. We conclude that what distinguishes the RLP voter from the social democratic or green voter in these countries is not socio-demographic characteristics but rather three attitudinal variables - satisfaction with democracy, attitudes toward immigrants, and the role of government in reducing income disparities. Furthermore, we find that given these three attitudinal variables, the probability to vote for an RLP compared to a social democratic or green party increases dramatically the farther the voter places him/herself to the left.

scholarly journals Is Being Employed Always Better for Mental Wellbeing Than Being Unemployed? Exploring the Role of Gender and Welfare State Regimes during the Economic Crisis

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (23) ◽  
pp. 4799
Author(s):  
Imma Cortès-Franch ◽  
Vanessa Puig-Barrachina ◽  
Hernán Vargas-Leguás ◽  
M. Marta Arcas ◽  
Lucía Artazcoz
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
Labor Market Regulations ◽  
The Unemployed

The growth of poor jobs related to economic crisis adds to its increase since the mid-1970s as a result of new forms of flexible employment. In Europe, there is no clear evidence on whether working in a poor-quality job is better for mental wellbeing than being unemployed. The objectives of this study were to compare mental wellbeing between the unemployed and those working in jobs with different quality levels and to examine gender and welfare state differences in Europe. We selected 8324 men and 7496 women from the European Social Survey, 2010. Hierarchical multiple logistic regression models were fitted, separated by sex and country group. No significant differences in mental wellbeing were shown between unemployed-non-active, unemployed-active, and those working in low-quality jobs in either sex. Only men from Conservative countries in low-quality jobs had better mental wellbeing than unemployed (non-active) men. Only having a good-quality job reduced the likelihood of poor mental wellbeing compared with being unemployed (non-active) among men in all countries (except Social-Democratic) and among women in Eastern and Southern European countries. No differences were observed among men or women in Social-Democratic countries, while strong gender differences were found in Conservative and Liberal countries. Our study indicates the need to take job quality into account, in addition to creating jobs during economic crises. The main mechanisms to explain the strong gender and welfare state differences identified could be social protection for unemployed, labor market regulations, and family models.

scholarly journals ‘Bridges Over Troubled Waters’? The Competitive Symbiosis of Social Democracy and Radical Left in Crisis-Ridden Southern Europe

2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-81
Author(s):  
Ioannis Balampanidis ◽  
Ioannis Vlastaris ◽  
George Xezonakis ◽  
Magdalini Karagkiozoglou
Keyword(s):  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Social Democracy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Southern Europe ◽  
Strategic Responses ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Strategic Orientations ◽  
Electoral Cycle ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Radical Left

AbstractDuring the economic crisis, the radical left, especially in countries of the European South, continued its course from marginality to mainstream while social democracy found itself trapped in its previous strategic orientations. This article examines the two political families in a relational and comparative perspective, focusing on the interaction of social democratic and radical left parties that evolved in a series of national cases (Greece, Portugal, Spain and France) and in particular within the political and electoral cycle of 2015–17. The ideological, programmatic and strategic responses of these parties to the critical juncture of the crisis, which mark a convergence or deviation in the paths of the two ‘enemy brothers', shed light on their political and ideological mutations, transformations and/or adaptations.

Neo-liberalism, the 'third way' or what? Recent social democratic welfare policies in Denmark and the Netherlands

2001 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoffer Green-Pedersen ◽  
Kees Van Kersbergen ◽  
Anton Hemerijck
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Third Way ◽  
Welfare Policies ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
The Third

Selling Social Democracy in the Netherlands: Activism and its Sources of Inspiration during the 1930s

2009 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 475-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
BERNARD RULOF
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Social Democracy ◽  
Social Democratic Party ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Political Crises ◽  
The World ◽  
Commercial Advertising ◽  
New Generation

AbstractDuring the 1930s the Dutch social democratic party changed into a party which sought to reform rather than to abolish capitalism. This transformation was accompanied by a change in tactics and strategy intended to meet the challenges of economic and political crises. Henceforth, the Sociaal-Democratische Arbeiderspartij tried to establish co-operation with social groupings well beyond its traditional rank and file of industrial labourers. A new generation of voluntarist politicians proposed to adopt the methods of propaganda, and turned for inspiration to activities undertaken by Belgian and German socialists, as well as the world of commercial advertising.

Flank attacks

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 193-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthijs Rooduijn ◽  
Tjitske Akkerman
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
The Political ◽  
General Category ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Good People ◽  
Economic Elites ◽  
Political Spectrum ◽  
The Right ◽  
Radical Left

How is populism distributed over the political spectrum? Are right-wing parties more populist than left-wing parties? Based on the analysis of 32 parties in five Western European countries between 1989 and 2008, we show that radical parties on both the left and the right are inclined to employ a populist discourse. This is a striking finding, because populism in Western Europe has typically been associated with the radical right; only some particular radical left parties have been labeled populist as well. This article suggests that the contemporary radical left in Western Europe is generally populist. Our explanation is that many contemporary radical left parties are not traditionally communist or socialist (anymore). They do not focus on the ‘proletariat’, but glorify a more general category: the ‘good people’. Moreover, they do not reject the system of liberal democracy as such, but only criticize the political and/or economic elites within that system.

Social and psychological correlates of happiness in 17 European countries

2010 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 130-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne M Doherty ◽  
Brendan D Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Religious Belief ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
Individual Variation ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Societal Factors ◽  
Satisfaction With Democracy ◽  
Psychological Correlates ◽  
Community Trust ◽  
The Individual

AbstractObjectives:Happiness has been associated with a number of individual and societal factors, but much of the individual-to-individual variation in happiness remains unexplained. The purpose of this paper is to examine a broad range of social and psychological correlates of self-rated happiness in Europe.Methods:We used data from the European Social Survey to determine levels of happiness in individuals (n = 30,816) from 17 European countries and to identify associations between happiness and age, gender, family relationships, satisfaction with income, employment status, community trust, satisfaction with health, satisfaction with democracy, religious belief and country of residence.Results:Self-rated happiness varies significantly between European countries, with individuals in Denmark reporting the highest levels of happiness and individuals in Bulgaria reporting the lowest levels. On multi-variable analysis, happiness is positively correlated with younger age, satisfaction with household income, being employed, high community trust and religious belief. Overall, these factors account for 22.5% of the individual-to-individual variation in happiness in Europe.Conclusions:For the individual, this study highlights possible associations between happiness and the individual's attitudes towards various aspects of their personal, household and societal circumstances. For social policy-makers, this study suggests the potential usefulness of civic measures to increase community trust and social capital. Further studies of the inter-relationships between individual and community-level variables would assist in further explaining the variance in happiness between individuals and countries.

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