Party preferences and political participation: the emergence of the Turkish-origin German voter

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-40
Author(s):  
Vera Eccarius-Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Voting Behavior ◽  
Green Party ◽  
Missed Opportunities ◽  
Social Democrats ◽  
Political Landscape ◽  
Turkish Origin ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Future ◽  
Specific Interests

The article examines trends in voting preferences and voting behavior of Turkish-origin German voters. Despite only representing a small percentage of the total German electorate, Turkish-origin voters are gaining an opportunity to shape the future political landscape. While the Social Democrats have benefited most directly from the minority constituency so far, this author suggests that the Green Party is poised to attract the younger, better educated, and German-born segment of the Turkish-origin voters. All other dominant national parties have ignored this emerging voting bloc, and missed opportunities to appeal to Turkish-origin voters by disregarding community-specific interests. 

On the Way Back into Government? The Free Democratic Party Gearing Up for the 2009 Elections

2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-75
Author(s):  
Rolf Steltemeier
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Party ◽  
Green Party ◽  
International Crisis ◽  
Social Democrats ◽  
Political Landscape ◽  
The Social ◽  
Neoliberal Ideology ◽  
Left Party ◽  
German Bundestag ◽  
Free Democratic Party

After the first Bundestag elections in 1949, the Free Democratic Party (FDP) established itself as kingmaker either of the Christian Democrats or the Social Democrats. The entrance of the Green Party into the German Bundestag in 1983 brought about a significant change in the German political landscape, which challenged the German Liberals to redefine themselves. At present, it seems that the FDP is on its way back into the federal government after ten years of opposition, although "neoliberal" ideology is currently facing a severe international crisis. This constitutes a puzzling issue for political scientists, which is addressed in this article by analyzing the factors that can explain the German Liberal's latest success. Furthermore, the FDP's chances in comparison to the other two small parties (Left Party and Greens) are discussed. Finally, attention is focused on the characteristics of the FDP's election campaign and its coalition options for 2009 and beyond.

Ein zunehmend bunter Freistaat: Die Analyse der bayerischen Kommunalwahlen im März 2020 unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der kreisfreien Städte

2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-94
Author(s):  
Jan Pollex ◽  
Sebastian Block ◽  
Martin Gross ◽  
Dominic Nyhuis ◽  
Jan A. Velimsky
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Coalition Building ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Special Role ◽  
Green Party ◽  
Social Democrats ◽  
The Social ◽  
Election Results

Despite their crucial role for democratic decision-making, local elections receive little atten­tion from political science research . To overcome this shortcoming, the article analyses the Bavarian local elections of 2020 . Although the CSU remains the strongest party in the Free State, the Green Party was able to make considerable gains, especially in larger cities . How­ever, the Greens could not gain any grounds in mayoral elections, whereas CSU and SPD competed for the win . In most of the cases, the Social Democrats won the posts in city halls . In addition to detailing election results, this article addresses the ballot lists, the com­position of local councils, and coalition building at the local level . Overall, this contribu­tion provides a comprehensive account of the elections, which are characterized by their unique ballot system and, thus, have a special role in the political system of Germany .

The Dynamics of Social Capital and Recent Political Development in Malaysia

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 443-464
Author(s):  
SYEDA NAUSHIN PARNINI ◽  
MOHAMMAD REDZUAN OTHMAN ◽  
AMER SAIFUDE
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Political Development ◽  
Voting Behavior ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Landscape ◽  
The Social ◽  
Opposition Parties

AbstractThe political landscape in Malaysia has been changing since the late 1990s with a gradual rise in resistance from civil society and the opposition parties. Domestic politics have become more contentious recently, particularly evidenced by the advent of a strong civil society and a multi-cultural opposition coalition. Thus, the social capital stimulated by ICTs and CSOs has played a vital role in strengthening and empowering the role of the opposition parties in Malaysia. This study seeks to understand how ICT-driven social capital has facilitated the surge in the opposition movement by situating the political use of social capital in a broader socio-political context. Hence the dramatic political change has been intertwined with the dynamics of social capital and creation of a public sphere accelerated by the rapid growth of ICTs in the country. By analyzing recent voting patterns, this study demonstrates that ICT-driven social capital does have a great impact on the changing political landscape in Malaysia, particularly in shaping voting behavior and political participation of Malay and non-Malay citizens in domestic politics.

Immigration policy could topple Swedish government

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Green Party ◽  
Social Democrats ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Minority Government ◽  
Budget Proposal ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Government ◽  
Immigration Issue ◽  
Clear Majority

Significance This is a lower forecast than the 170,000 the agency predicted in October, before Sweden reimposed controls at its border with Denmark. The immigration issue is causing strains within the minority two-party coalition government. The junior Green Party has lost several key battles in the last couple of months and is said to be questioning its participation in the government. Some scepticism has crept into the ranks of the Social Democrats as well, with several senior members encouraging the leadership to form a new government with the Moderate Party. Impacts With so many asylum seekers already in the country, Sweden's infrastructure will be pushed to the limit. Every misstep will cause further problems for the government. The Greens will either be allowed to push their own agenda within the government, or will break away. With polls showing a clear majority for the opposition, the temptation to bring down the government may prove too hard to resist. If the opposition joins forces to submit a budget proposal in the autumn, the current minority government must resign.

The Changing Swedish Electorate

1981 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
John D. Stephens
Keyword(s):  
Voting Behavior ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Social Democrats ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Social ◽  
Electoral Strategies ◽  
Class Voting ◽  
Socioeconomic Composition

This article attempts to assess the contribution of long-term changes in Swedish social structure to three recent developments in Swedish electoral behavior: the decline of the Social Democrats, the decline in class voting, and the increase in the volatility of party preference. The author argues that the decline of the Social Democrats cannot be attributed to long-term structural changes in the electorate but rather is a product of the policies and electoral strategies pursued by the parties. The decline in class voting is found to be partly attributable to long-term structural change. Original secondary analysis of survey data is then presented to show that the socioeconomic composition of individuals' places of residence affects their voting behavior independent of individual-level characteristics. The author then argues that the parties' policies and electoral strategies have reinforced the tendency toward decreasing class voting. Finally, both long-term structural changes and the decline in class voting itself appear to have caused the increase in the volatility of party choice.

Austria may struggle to find a stable government

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Far Right ◽  
Green Party ◽  
Social Democrats ◽  
Content Type ◽  
People's Party ◽  
Fast Tracking ◽  
Illegal Migrants ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Intelligence Services ◽  
The Social

Subject Austria's election implications. Significance The Austrian People’s Party (OVP) will stay in power after winning 37.54% of the vote in the September 29 snap elections -- a gain of over 5 percentage points from the 2017 election. Its objective is now to form a coalition. It could either renew the centre-right alliance with the Freedom Party (FPO), or realign itself towards the centre by going into government with the Social Democrats (SPO) or the Green Party. Finding a coalition that provides a balance between stability and policy cohesion will be difficult. Impacts Foreign intelligence services may remain sceptical about cooperating with Austria if the far-right FPO returns to government. The rise of the Green Party will put pressure on the OVP to pay more attention to popular climate and environmental policies. Austria will continue to support the strengthening of the EU’s external borders and fast-tracking the repatriation of illegal migrants.

Die Bürgerschaftswahl in Bremen vom 26. Mai 2019: CDU gewinnt, aber Rot-Grün-Rot regiert

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-284
Author(s):  
Lothar Probst
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
The Other ◽  
Green Party ◽  
Social Democrats ◽  
Second Best ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The Social ◽  
Left Party ◽  
The One ◽  
First Time

The state election in Bremen in 2019 was marked by a head-to-head race between SPD and CDU and ended up with a considerably increased turnout and a historical result . The Christian Democrats managed to beat the Social Democrats for the first time in Bremen’s postwar history . The Greens achieved their second-best outcome in a Bremen state election and had the choice between a so-called Jamaica coalition or a left coalition . Whereas the pragmatic oriented Left Party succeeded to accomplish a two-digit result of 11 .3 percent, the Liberals and the Alternative of Germany underperformed with an outcome of about six percent of the votes . After a round of exploratory negotiations between Christian Democrats, Greens, and Liberals on the one hand and between Social Democrats, Greens, and The Left on the other hand, the rank and file of the Green Party decided to hold coalition talks with Social Democrats and the Left Party . Once the red-green-red coalition was built, the Senate’s president and SPD front-runner, Carsten Sieling, resigned . Instead, Andreas Bovenschulte became the Senate’s new president . Bovenschulte is a former chairman of Bremen’s Social Democrats and had already been elected to lead the SPD parliamentary party .

The Double Conditioning of Political Participation: Grassroots Politics on Facebook

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Jannick Schou ◽  
Johan Farkas ◽  
Morten Hjelholt
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
User Participation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Material Structure ◽  
Grassroots Politics ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Future ◽  
The One

The emergence of social network sites as a part of everyday life has given rise to a number of debates on the demo- cratic potential afforded by these technologies. This paper addresses political participation facilitated through Facebook from a practice-oriented perspective and presents a case study of the political grassroots organisation, Fight For The Future. Initially, the paper provides a basic theoretical framework that seeks to map the relation between civic practices, materiality, and discursive features. Using this framework, the article analyses Fight For The Future’s use of Facebook to facilitate political participation. The study finds that user participation on the Facebook page is ‘double conditioned’ by the material structure of the social network site on the one hand and by the discourses articulated by the organisation and users on the other. Finally, the paper discusses the findings and raises a number of problems and obstacles facing participatory grassroots organisations, such as Fight For The Future, when using Facebook.

Merkel opens door for a different Europe

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Euro Area ◽  
Grand Coalition ◽  
Coalition Government ◽  
Social Democrats ◽  
Content Type ◽  
German Politics ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Future ◽  
Future Direction

Significance Merkel’s decision represents the culmination of discontent from within her party and outside regarding her socially liberal policies and grand coalition government with the Social Democrats (SPD). Her party successor will determine how long Merkel remains chancellor, the future direction of the CDU and German politics, as well as Germany’s future relationship with Europe. Impacts Merkel’s departure could open the door for a rapprochement in German-US relations. A more unilateralist Germany could undermine euro-area stability. The ‘Normandy’ format -- aimed at managing conflict in Ukraine -- could face extinction.

The Weimar Left

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Jay
Keyword(s):  
Political History ◽  
Missed Opportunities ◽  
Social Democrats ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Republic

This chapter challenges long-perpetuated and exaggerated narratives concerning the mistakes and missed opportunities of the German Left during the Republic: neither the brutal repression of radical socialists at the Republic's birth nor recurrent fissures between the Social Democrats and Communists throughout its history guaranteed either the collapse of the Republic or a diminishing influence of the Social Democrats (SPD) within it. Ultimately, however uninevitable were the disastrous outcomes that befell the Republic and especially members of the Left. The chapter argues that a fresh engagement with Weimar political history might serve as lessons for future socialist movements within liberal and social democracies.

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