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Compulsory voting and right-wing populism : Mobilisation, representation and socioeconomic inequalities

Malkopoulou, Anthoula LU orcid (2020) In Australian Journal of Political Science 55(3). p.276-292
Abstract
When all citizens vote, the influence of radical parties decreases. Despite this being a central justification for compulsory voting in the past, it has been absent from contemporary debates. I examine the normative and empirical premises of the ‘moderation thesis’ in relation to radical right-wing populist parties today and suggest that, under certain conditions, compulsory voting can limit these parties’ appeal. First, it replaces the excessive mobilisation of discontented voters with a more universal mobilisation. Second, it addresses the problem of underrepresentation offering a more pluralist type of representation than the populist one. And third, it reverses socioeconomic inequalities that drive support for populism through the... (More)
When all citizens vote, the influence of radical parties decreases. Despite this being a central justification for compulsory voting in the past, it has been absent from contemporary debates. I examine the normative and empirical premises of the ‘moderation thesis’ in relation to radical right-wing populist parties today and suggest that, under certain conditions, compulsory voting can limit these parties’ appeal. First, it replaces the excessive mobilisation of discontented voters with a more universal mobilisation. Second, it addresses the problem of underrepresentation offering a more pluralist type of representation than the populist one. And third, it reverses socioeconomic inequalities that drive support for populism through the egalitarian effects that compulsory voting has on policymaking. My central thesis is this: because compulsory voting embodies inclusivist, pluralist and egalitarian values, it addresses some of the grievances that drive support for right-wing populist parties without carrying the same normative costs as populism. (Less)
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author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
compulsory voting, right-wing populism, political parties, social inequalities, representation
in
Australian Journal of Political Science
volume
55
issue
3
pages
17 pages
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:85086912868
ISSN
1036-1146
DOI
10.1080/10361146.2020.1774507
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
a0ef6a35-8476-4951-afcf-42db99f1b82d
date added to LUP
2020-04-09 10:32:56
date last changed
2022-04-18 21:34:49
@article{a0ef6a35-8476-4951-afcf-42db99f1b82d,
  abstract     = {{When all citizens vote, the influence of radical parties decreases. Despite this being a central justification for compulsory voting in the past, it has been absent from contemporary debates. I examine the normative and empirical premises of the ‘moderation thesis’ in relation to radical right-wing populist parties today and suggest that, under certain conditions, compulsory voting can limit these parties’ appeal. First, it replaces the excessive mobilisation of discontented voters with a more universal mobilisation. Second, it addresses the problem of underrepresentation offering a more pluralist type of representation than the populist one. And third, it reverses socioeconomic inequalities that drive support for populism through the egalitarian effects that compulsory voting has on policymaking. My central thesis is this: because compulsory voting embodies inclusivist, pluralist and egalitarian values, it addresses some of the grievances that drive support for right-wing populist parties without carrying the same normative costs as populism.}},
  author       = {{Malkopoulou, Anthoula}},
  issn         = {{1036-1146}},
  keywords     = {{compulsory voting; right-wing populism; political parties; social inequalities; representation}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{06}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{276--292}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Australian Journal of Political Science}},
  title        = {{Compulsory voting and right-wing populism : Mobilisation, representation and socioeconomic inequalities}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10361146.2020.1774507}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/10361146.2020.1774507}},
  volume       = {{55}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}