Housing, place and populism: Towards a research agenda

This exchange considers the unrecognised interplay between two major political–economic trends shaping contemporary Europe, namely the upward trend in housing-induced inequalities and rising support for populist politics. Europe's housing systems have undergone dramatic transformations in recent decades that are exacerbating housing precarity, wealth inequalities and socio-spatial polarisation. At the same time, European politics has witnessed a growing acceptance of populist political rhetoric, values and policies as populists exploit citizens' economic anxieties and perceived cultural grievances. Yet, existing research overlooks the connections between housing system dynamics, housing precarity and political disaffection. In response, this exchange proposes a new approach – housing discontent – to capture how deepening housing precarity and place inequalities are influencing social attitudes, political values and preferences and resulting in a more polarised contemporary politics.

Electoral participation, political disaffection, and the rise of the populist radical right

Does the populist radical right benefit from increased electoral mobilization? Integrating theories of political grievances with accounts of party competition in Western Europe, we contend that the populist right gains advantage from increased electoral mobilization, but that this effect is conditional on political disaffection. We draw on a novel panel dataset (2009–2019) of more than 10,000 German municipalities and city districts to study the implications of turnout surges as a function of pre-existing levels of political disaffection in a difference-in-differences design. The results demonstrate that turnout surges benefit the populist right “Alternative für Deutschland” (AfD) in contexts of widespread political distrust. In contrast, increased mobilization acts to depress its electoral fortunes in communities marked by low baseline levels of political disaffection. In shedding light on the interplay between political disaffection and electoral mobilization, this study has important implications for understanding the surge of the populist right in established democracies.

Political disaffection and disengagement in Serbia

The aim of this paper is to examine the extent of political disaffection and disengagement of Serbian citizens from a comparative European perspective, as well as to explore the relationships between two phenomena and determine the effects of several potential predictors (structural inequalities, gender, generational differences, urban environment, political awareness and competences, national and European identification, and political discontent) on different aspects of political disaffection and disengagement. In order to do so, we have used European Social Survey data (9th round, 2018), and singled out four different subdimensions of political disaffection and disengagement: assessment of responsiveness of the political system (external political efficacy), institutional trust, assessment of individual interest in politics and capabilities to engage in political processes (internal political efficacy), and the level of actual political engagement (political participation). The aim of the paper is to shed light on different systemic, structural and conjunctural factors that may contribute to shaping political attitudes and patterns of actions in contemporary Serbia and pose several theoretical and research questions that need further investigation.

Political Disaffection, Sociodemographic, and Psychographic Variables as State Legitimacy Determinants in the European Union

According to political science, modern societies can separate the state function and the politicians’ mission. However, the existing relationship between political disaffection and state legitimacy indicates the contrary. The interest held by the European Union inhabitants in their politicians has been decreasing, and the closeness to a specific political party or political leader has been weakening. Many European countries have a great degree of polarity in their political parties’ system, which augments the complexity of forming governments or even makes it impossible. Citizens have been affected by corruption, the economic situation, migratory crisis, or the European project weakness. They feel that politicians have forgotten their role as the people’s representatives and their responsibility to behave according to society’s general interest. Through its institutions, the state must ensure the country’s performance and maintain it despite the change in the political leaders. Moreover, its legitimacy will depend on the level of social support received by these institutions. This research aims to quantify if the current political disaffection influences the European Union states’ social support level or state legitimacy. It also expects to demonstrate which sociodemographic and psychographic variables influence on governments’ fragility and the dilution of state legitimacy, which is critical for countries’ stability. For this purpose, we used the available data from the European Social Survey for 2016, and we developed a statistical analysis through variation and regression analysis. The results highlight the strong effect that political disaffection, as well as variables such as religion, immigration perception, citizenship, or emotional state have on state legitimacy and reveal the need for changes in the political parties’ performance and behavior to maintain the countries’ stability.

Experts in Government: What for? Ambiguities in Public Opinion Towards Technocracy

Technocratic governments and similar systems that give more voice to experts in the decision-making process are one of the potential alternatives to traditional representative party government. These alternatives have become increasingly popular, especially in countries where strong political disaffection and previous favourable pro-expert attitudes exist simultaneously. The Spanish case is one of these settings, with the emergence of a political party, Ciudadanos (Citizens), that represents these ideas. This article contributes to the understanding of public opinion support for an expert government, its main motives, and social supports. We claim that experts are not so much a decision-making alternative as they are a desired piece of the decision-making process. Support for a more significant role for experts comes especially from those that credit them with ample technical capacities, but most citizens want them to work as a piece of representative government, not as an alternative to it. The article combines two types of evidence: A survey of a representative sample of the population, including innovative questions about support to expert governments, and 10 focus groups that allow a more in-depth comprehension of the support (and criticism) of an increased role for experts. The results provide a nuanced picture of the types of expert involvement sought and their respective social support.

When Should the People Decide? Public Support for Direct Democracy in Australia

This article examines the strength of support for direct democracy among Australian citizens, both in general and, in a world-first, across different specific topics. Analysing data from the Australian Constitutional Values Survey, we investigate whether that support is higher among people who are more educated and politically interested (in line with a ‘cognitive mobilisation’ hypothesis) or those who are dissatisfied with politics, with low levels of political trust (‘political disaffection’). The article finds that Australians widely support the use of direct democracy, but especially with respect to constitutional issues and matters of principle that they feel they can readily engage with, whereas parliaments are still seen as best placed to decide more technical matters. The article also finds that support for direct democracy is strongest among politically disaffected citizens, in ways that suggest greater use of direct democracy may have a role to play in addressing decline in political trust in Australia.

Reclaiming Space(s)

Emanuela Buscemi investigates the role of Kuwaiti women activists in the Arab Spring–inspired Karamat Watan (A Nation’s Dignity) protests. This chapter focuses on how women’s activism transgressed two different arenas: the physical space in the streets and cyberspace. Younger and older women drew upon more than a half-century’s worth of activism to voice their dissent against corruption and complacent reforms. Accordingly, the Arab Spring events acted as catalysts of local political disaffection and social alienation inspiring local protests. The chapter draws on fieldwork conducted in Kuwait between 2013 and 2015, and is based on interviews with women activists.

Can’t change my political disaffection! The role of political disaffection, trust, and resistance to change in internet voting

Purpose This paper aims to put the focus on political disaffection that the voters may have and its impact on their resistance to the changes, thereby influencing intention to adopt Internet voting. This study also examines the impact of perceived risk and technological skills on the trust of the Internet technology and informal networks, such as social influence and media influence on the trust of the government. Design/methodology/approach To empirically test the model, an online survey is administered to 851 people who are eligible to vote. Findings The findings show that positive media influence and social influence also significantly impact trust in government but trust in government does not necessarily decrease resistance to change and positively impact intention to adopt eVoting. Also, the resistance to change was shown to significantly influence the intention to use Internet voting. Research limitations/implications A primary potential limitation of this study is the use of convenience sampling, which may lead to self-selection bias that limits the generalization of our research to all citizens. Practical implications Government institutions, as well as political parties, can use the findings of this research to understand how political dissatisfaction such as apathy and cynicism can increase trust in technology and lead to higher participation in online voting. Originality/value While the focus on previous literature has been heavily on security and system requirements, this study expands existing research by exploring voting habits, political disaffection, the resistance of change and informal influence on intention to use online voting.

Interest Groups, Business Associations, and Trade Unions

Spanish civil society has been characterized as weak and state-dependent as a consequence of the long-lived Francoist dictatorship (1939–1976). Since the advent of democracy, the state has granted unions and business associations a representational monopoly and a consultative role, and promoted private groups through an inflow of legislation and the distribution of public subsidies. The pattern of interest intermediation whereby the administration was largely sealed off from interest groups has been gradually changing and opening up to different interests. Since the 1990s, new lobbying activities have been documented as well as a growth in non-profit and youth-led associations, but discrepancies still prevail as to whether this will consolidate in an upward trend. One way or another, Spain’s status as a low-middle range country in associational terms in comparative studies has not changed and the union density has remained low. The 2008 economic crisis has paved the way for the mobilization of citizens who denounced the privileged and behind-the-scenes relation between the political class and certain economic and financial interests. Political disaffection and the perception of growing corruption have come hand in hand.