scholarly journals Are they different?A comparative study of European populist party members

2021 ◽  
pp. 135406882110606
Author(s):  
Ruth Dassonneville ◽  
Ian McAllister
Keyword(s):  
Church Attendance ◽  
Political Attitudes ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
World Values Survey ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Party Members ◽  
Established Democracies ◽  
Demographic Background ◽  
Politically Active ◽  
Populist Party

Party membership is in decline across the established democracies, but populist parties appear to be reversing this trend. The expansion of populist parties’ membership base raises the question whether these parties are fulfilling their role as actors who serve as a “corrective to democracy” by mobilizing the socially and politically marginalized to become politically active. Using large comparative datasets from the European Social Survey and the World Values Survey, we examine the characteristics of populist party members in terms of their socio-demographic background and their political attitudes. We show that, with the exceptions of income levels and church attendance, the members of populist and non-populist parties look very much alike and hold similar political attitudes. These findings imply that mobilizing the politically disaffected remains a challenge, even for populist actors.

Political attitudes and trade union membership in the Nordic countries

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 381-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carsten Strøby Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Political Attitudes ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Nordic Countries ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
The Impact

Do political attitudes influence the likelihood of employees being members of a trade union, and to what extent is this the case in the Nordic countries with their high aggregate levels of membership? In this article, I address these questions using European Social Survey data from 2012. The results show that left-wing political attitudes have the most impact on the likelihood of trade union membership in Sweden and to a lesser extent in Denmark. In Norway and Finland, there is no statistically significant impact. I argue that the impact of left-wing political attitudes on unionization in Sweden and Denmark reflects a conception among employees that trade unions are normative organizations.

Singled Out or Drawn In? Social Polices and Lone Mothers’ Political Engagement

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 471-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Shore
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Single Mothers ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Lone Mothers ◽  
Cash Benefits ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Politically Active

Although it is no longer a symbol of socially degenerate behavior in many societies, single motherhood remains associated with numerous risks and disadvantages. In addition to their disadvantages in the labor market and their greater risk of poverty, single mothers also tend to be less politically active. This article explores the patterns of single mothers’ electoral participation across 25 European countries. In addition to the individual-level characteristics that shape the likelihood of taking part in an election, public policies can also do a great deal to encourage political involvement. Drawing on data from the European Social Survey combined with national family and labor market policies, I examine the ways in which policies aiming to reconcile the responsibilities at work and home can draw single mothers into political engagement. I find that early childhood expenditures and cash benefits to families are positively related to single mothers’ political participation.

International public opinion surveys and public policy in Southern European democracies

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Sebastián Fernández-Prados ◽  
Cristina Cuenca-Piqueras ◽  
María José González-Moreno
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Public Policies ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
World Values Survey ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Public Opinion Surveys ◽  
Complex Relationships ◽  
International Social

AbstractThis article aims to analyse the presence of and relationship between the most relevant comparative social research thorough international surveys and public policies reflected in the different official bulletins or gazettes of the countries of southern Europe, specifically Spain, Portugal and Italy. Following a consideration of the process of globalisation of research through surveys, four surveys were selected (Eurobarometer, World Values Survey, International Social Survey Programme, European Social Survey). The complex relationships between public opinion and public policy were also addressed. Finally, it is concluded that the most prominent international surveys have little or no presence in public policies in the countries analysed.

The (Non)Impact of the 2015 Paris Terrorist Attacks on Political Attitudes

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 838-850 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno Castanho Silva
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Immigration Policy ◽  
Political Attitudes ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Opinion Change ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Charlie Hebdo

Previous research has consistently found widespread attitudinal impacts of terrorist attacks. Using data from the European Social Survey, which was conducting interviews in 11 countries when the Charlie Hebdo attacks happened in January 2015, I compare respondents from before and after the shootings to test whether the event shifted public opinion on several topics. There is no evidence of average impacts across a range of issues, from xenophobia to ideological self-placement and immigration policy preferences. Data collected when the Paris November 2015 shootings happened also present no evidence of public opinion change on immigration and refugee policy matters in France, but there appears to be an effect in other countries—which varies according to contextual vulnerability. Results suggest that views on immigration and immigrants have, to a certain extent, stabilized in Europe and are less susceptible to shifts from dramatic events.

scholarly journals New Evidence on Trust and Well-Being

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
John F. Helliwell ◽  
Haifang Huang ◽  
Shun Wang
Keyword(s):  
Social Trust ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
Well Being ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
World Values Survey ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Different Types ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Gallup World Poll

Data from three large international surveys—the Gallup World Poll, the World Values Survey and the European Social Survey—are used to estimate income-equivalent values for social trust, with a likely lower bound equivalent to a doubling of household income. Second, the more detailed and precisely measured trust data in the European Social Survey (ESS) are used to compare the effects of different types of social and political trust. While social trust and trust in police are most important, there are significant additional benefits from trust in three aspects of the institutional environment: the legal system, parliament and politicians. The total well-being value of a trustworthy environment is estimated to be larger than that flowing from social trust alone. Third, the ESS data show that being subject to discrimination, ill-health or unemployment is much less damaging to those living in trustworthy environments. These resilience-increasing features of social trust hence lessen well-being inequality by channeling the largest benefits to those at the low end of the well-being distribution.

scholarly journals Political Regimes and Immigrant Party Preferences

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 651-686 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aida Just
Keyword(s):  
Party Identification ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Communist Regime ◽  
Political Regimes ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Foreign Born ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Established Democracies

This article examines how political regimes in migrants’ origin countries influence their party identification in adopted homeland. I posit that immigrants are more likely to acquire partisanship in their host country if they came from a nonparty autocracy as opposed to a party-based autocracy or democracy. Moreover, among partisans, immigrants are less likely to identify with a left-wing party if they came from a communist regime. Finally, these effects are particularly pronounced among foreign-born individuals from highly authoritarian regimes. The analyses using Geddes, Wright, and Frantz Autocratic Regimes data along with individual-level data from the European Social Survey (ESS) 2002-2017 in 19 established democracies confirm these expectations. These findings have important implications for debates on immigrant political integration, party politics, and the prospects of electoral stability in contemporary democracies.

How does the welfare state model influence social political attitudes? An analysis of citizens' concrete and abstract attitudes toward poverty

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 201-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timo Toikko ◽  
Teemu Rantanen
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Political Attitudes ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
State Model ◽  
Anglo Saxon ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
State Models ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Welfare State

AbstractThis study examines the relationship between the welfare state models and social political attitudes. The data are based on the sixth round of the European Social Survey. The study revealed a mechanism of how the relationship between concrete and abstract attitudes differs between the welfare states. In the Anglo-Saxon and Nordic welfare states the relationship is a positive one, which indicates that the welfare state has a broad support among citizens. In the Continental, Eastern and Southern welfare states the relationship is a negative one. This means that the less satisfied citizens are with governmental measures, the more positive their attitudes are regarding protecting citizens against poverty. Also the study showed that the welfare state model directly influences citizens’ concrete attitudes and indirectly influences abstract poverty attitudes. In this sense, the welfare state model is seen more as an attitudinal perception than an actual social policy.

In sickness and in health

2015 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Söderlund ◽  
Lauri Rapeli
Keyword(s):  
Political Engagement ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Poor Health ◽  
Personal Health ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Dependent Variables ◽  
Health Gap ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Politically Active

In search of a better understanding of inequalities in citizen political engagement, scholars have begun addressing the relationship between personal health and patterns of political behavior. This study focuses on the impact of personal health on various forms of political participation. The analysis contributes to existing knowledge by examining a number of different participation forms beyond just voting. Using European Social Survey data from 2012/2013 for Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden ($N=8\text{,}060$), self-reported turnout and six alternative modes of political engagement were modeled as dependent variables. Contrary to expectations, poor health did not depress participation across all forms. As assumed by the increased activism hypothesis, all else equal, people with poor health were more active than their healthy counterparts in direct contacts with power holders and demonstrations. The results reveal a “reversed health gap” by showing that people with health problems are in fact more politically active than what previous research, which has focused on voting, has suggested. Although the magnitude of the gap should not be overdramatized, our results stress the importance of distinguishing between different forms of participation when analyzing the impact of health on political engagement. Nevertheless, the findings show that poor health can stimulate people into political engagement rather than depressing activity. This finding holds when the effects of several sociodemographic and motivational factors are controlled for.

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