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"Do we care more when we think differently?" - On the relationship between Ideological Polarisation and Voter Turnout

Krönert, Gerrit LU (2022) STVK03 20221
Department of Political Science
Abstract
Polarisation is a hotly discussed and eagerly researched topic these days. This research specifically examines the effects of one type of polarisation: Ideological Polarisation on voter turnout. It does so by measuring the average ideological distance between all parties in European multiparty systems between 1999-2021 and correlating this to voter turnout in elections. Two of the ideological measurements are one-dimensional, while one is two-dimensional. Results show that ideological polarisation correlates with turnout on a simple level, not taking other factors into account. Additionally, party competition was likely centrifugal in most European countries during this time period. However, research also shows that other variables such as... (More)
Polarisation is a hotly discussed and eagerly researched topic these days. This research specifically examines the effects of one type of polarisation: Ideological Polarisation on voter turnout. It does so by measuring the average ideological distance between all parties in European multiparty systems between 1999-2021 and correlating this to voter turnout in elections. Two of the ideological measurements are one-dimensional, while one is two-dimensional. Results show that ideological polarisation correlates with turnout on a simple level, not taking other factors into account. Additionally, party competition was likely centrifugal in most European countries during this time period. However, research also shows that other variables such as GDP per capita, Gini-index or geographical location correlate more strongly with voter turnout than ideological polarisation. Multivariate models confirm that the impact of ideological polarisation on voter turnout is miniscule at best, if statistically significant. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Krönert, Gerrit LU
supervisor
organization
course
STVK03 20221
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Ideological polarisation, voter turnout, multiparty systems, Europe, electoral competition.
language
English
additional info
Co-supervisor: Gustav Agneman
id
9080071
date added to LUP
2022-07-03 08:43:10
date last changed
2022-07-03 08:43:11
@misc{9080071,
  abstract     = {{Polarisation is a hotly discussed and eagerly researched topic these days. This research specifically examines the effects of one type of polarisation: Ideological Polarisation on voter turnout. It does so by measuring the average ideological distance between all parties in European multiparty systems between 1999-2021 and correlating this to voter turnout in elections. Two of the ideological measurements are one-dimensional, while one is two-dimensional. Results show that ideological polarisation correlates with turnout on a simple level, not taking other factors into account. Additionally, party competition was likely centrifugal in most European countries during this time period. However, research also shows that other variables such as GDP per capita, Gini-index or geographical location correlate more strongly with voter turnout than ideological polarisation. Multivariate models confirm that the impact of ideological polarisation on voter turnout is miniscule at best, if statistically significant.}},
  author       = {{Krönert, Gerrit}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{"Do we care more when we think differently?" - On the relationship between Ideological Polarisation and Voter Turnout}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}