Elections and Voters. (2009)

• Record Type: Book
• Other Names: Van der Eijk, Cees
• Contents: Cover; Contents; List of Figures, Tables and Boxes; Preface and Acknowledgements; 1 Why Elections?; Political parties; Functions of elections; The turnout paradox; Limitations of elections; Recurring themes; Voters, electorates, parties and party systems; The axis of political competition and the median voter; Representation; Electoral change; Topics; Countries; Institutional arrangements; Voters and the puzzle of the ignorant electorate; Plan of the book; 2 Studying Elections, Parties and Voters; The political context: party systems; The institutional context. Problems of parliamentary governmentProblems of presidential systems; Government formation; How elections condition coalition bargaining; Institutional influences on the structure of political life; Habits and routines; Socialization, immunization and party identification; Preferences and choice; Institutional change; 3 Electoral Institutions; Free and fair elections; Votes and outcomes; Electoral rules; Trade-offs in designing an electoral system; Electoral reform; Rules of the game for government formation; The role of the voters; The majoritarian and proportional visions. Dispersed versus concentrated powerPresidents and monarchs in parliamentary systems; 4 Voters and Parties; Party identification; Age, immunization and generational differences; Group loyalties; The decline of cleavage politics; The rise of issue voting; Long-term changes in electoral competition; Strategic considerations; The role of the Prime Minister in parliamentary regimes; Tactical voting; Candidate evaluations; Implications; 5 Outcomes of Elections; Consequences of electoral shifts; Incumbency and term limits; Accountability; Fairness in election outcomes. Trade-offs between proportional and majoritarian systemsBias in election outcomes; Turnout and bias; Protest voting; The structuring effects of strategic considerations; Split-ticket voting, 'balance' and mid-term loss; Consequences of party positions; Leadership; Learning from elections; 6 The Role of Public Opinion; Ways of studying public opinion; Why do people hold the opinions that they do?; The puzzle of the ignorant electorate; From issues to issue spaces; The issue space and proximity (smallest distance) theory; Party competence and issue ownership. The directional theory of party supportThe responsiveness of public opinion; The swing of the pendulum; A sophisticated electorate?; 7 Voter Orientations; The decline of partisanship; Generational replacement and electoral change; Political change and political realignments; The hand of the past; The dynamics of generational replacement; Events and economic news; Studying party preferences; What accounts for preferences?; Mandates versus accountability (prospective versus retrospective voting); Effects on preferences in newly established and consolidating democracies.
• Publisher Details: Place of publication not identified : Palgrave Macmillan
• Publication Date: 2009
• Extent: 1 online resource
• Subjects: 324.6; History & Theory; Verkiezingen; Elections; Voting; Elections; Voting; POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / Elections; POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / General; Electronic books
• Languages: English
• ISBNs: 9781137013637
• Related ISBNs: 113701363X
• Notes: Note: Print version record.
• Access Rights: Legal Deposit; Only available on premises controlled by the deposit library and to one user at any one time; The Legal Deposit Libraries (Non-Print Works) Regulations (UK).
• Access Usage: Restricted: Printing from this resource is governed by The Legal Deposit Libraries (Non-Print Works) Regulations (UK) and UK copyright law currently in force.