1,721,367 research outputs found
Volatiel of wispelturig? Hoeveel en welke kiezers veranderden van stemvoorkeur tijdens de campagne?
No full textstatus: Publishe
RepResent Longitudinal survey 2019 - 2021
No full textThis deposit contains the final, merged dataset containing the full RepResent Longitudinal survey data. The panel study consists of a pre- and post-electoral wave around the elections of May 26, 2019, a third wave about one year later (April 2020), and a final fourth wave. In the first, pre-electoral wave respondents were questioned between April 5 and May 21, 2019 (99% was interviewed before May 6). The second, post-electoral wave, surveyed the same respondents immediately after the elections (between May 28 and June 18, 2019). Respondents were surveyed a third time one year after the elections (between April 7 and April 27, 2020), and a final fourth time two years after the elections (between May 18, 2021 and June 4, 2021). These surveys were conducted by Kantar TNS at the request of the Excellence of Science consortium RepResent.
The target population of the study are the inhabitants of Flanders, Wallonia, and the Brussels Region that were eligible to vote for the elections of May 26, 2019. The gross sample consisted of respondents that were recruited from diverse online panels (Kantar’s own panel as well as panels from other online companies such as Dynata). The target was a net sample that would match the distribution on gender, age and education for the voting aged population in their respective regions. Due to non-response, the final samples differ from the target population distributions somewhat, but weights are provided in the dataset to set the sample distributions to match the population distributions.
The initial target was to have a net sample of 2500 respondents at the end of the second wave (1000 respondents in Flanders and Wallonia and 500 respondents in the Brussels Region). During the fieldwork, however, it was decided to oversample and continue the data collection even when the target was reached to be able to conduct a third and potentially fourth wave during the legislative term. For the third and fourth waves no target was set: the aim was simply to maximize responses
Why top politicians are pessimistic or optimistic about democracy and its evolution
No full textAmid widespread concerns about the crisis of democracy, scant scholarly attention has been given to the views of elite politicians who are at the helm of democracy and, for instance, have the ability to halt democratic erosion and improve citizens’ support for democracy. In this paper we addresses this important gap by investigating whether and why top politicians in Belgium and Australia are optimistic or pessimistic about democracy and its evolution. Drawing on 44 in-depth interviews with party leaders and ministers, we conduct a qualitative content analysis to examine the reasons behind elites’ optimism or pessimism about how “their” democracy is evolving. From their reflections, we learn that there is quite some variation in politicians’ views but that many, especially in Belgium, are pessimistic about how democracy evolves. The main source of pessimism stems from the tension between citizens’ expectations and politicians’ ability to deliver on these expectations. Elites say that politicians these days tend to overpromise what they can deliver, and citizens – fueled by (social) media and extremist opposition forces – are viewed as harboring unrealistic expectations. Yet, while top politicians are ultimately responsible for shaping democracy, they do not seem to take responsibility for halting the crisis of democracy
Chronicle of an election foretold : politicians\u2019 beliefs about electoral accountability and its effects
No full textAbstract: When and why politicians listen and respond to citizens\u2019 preferences is a key question in contemporary political science. This thesis seeks to contribute to our understanding of elite responsiveness by examining one crucial mechanism that is referenced in ample scholarly work on representation, namely politicians\u2019 anticipation of electoral accountability. Do politicians feel the weight of electoral accountability on their shoulders? And does the anticipation of accountability affect their (responsive) actions? I study politicians\u2019 perceptions of electoral accountability and its effects by means of a survey, a survey experiment and in-depth interviews with politicians in Belgium, and surveys with members of parliament in Switzerland, Canada, Germany and the U.S. First, this dissertation shows that the weight of voter control is exaggerated in the minds of politicians. Most politicians believe that their actions create more awareness among citizens and matter more for these citizens\u2019 voting decisions than they in reality do. This is not to say that politicians are entirely unrealistic about citizens\u2019 actual accountability behavior: they doubt whether voters make an informed party choice and they are skeptical about the general public\u2019s political knowledge. Despite their realistic view that voters are generally poorly informed about politics, the misplaced sense of individual voter scrutiny they experience, does ensure that a key premise of anticipatory representation is fulfilled. Second, this thesis shows that the anticipation of voter control affects political action. Politicians who expect to be held accountable for their decisions, compared to those who do not, put more effort in monitoring public opinion, are more likely to respond to voter preferences in their communications and, finally, are more likely to invoke coping strategies when (exceptionally) they do decide to go against the preferences of their voters. In short, this thesis establishes that the impact of elections stretches far beyond Election Day itself. The sheer anticipation of future elections by politicians, and more precisely the prospect of being held accountable in the next election, sensitizes politicians to voters\u2019 preferences in between elections. By, for the first time, illuminating politicians' often-discussed beliefs about electoral accountability, this thesis enhances our understanding of anticipatory representation, and democratic representation more generally
- …
