Voter Responses to Social Democratic Ideological Moderation after the Third Way
Polk, Jonathan LU
and Karreth, Johannes
(2024)
p.279-313
- Abstract
- To what extent does moderation in ideological positioning by social democratic parties affect their short- and long-term electoral fortunes? Do existing social democratic electorates respond differently to moderation from the major parties of the Moderate Left on the economic as opposed to the cultural dimension? Previous research suggests that social democratic parties received an influx of centrist voters post-moderation but that these new centrist voters were less attached to the party and left in later elections, as did left-leaning social democrats frustrated by moderation strategies. This chapter further probes whether there is a link between moderation and individual voters’ shifts from social democratic parties at a later point, by... (More)
- To what extent does moderation in ideological positioning by social democratic parties affect their short- and long-term electoral fortunes? Do existing social democratic electorates respond differently to moderation from the major parties of the Moderate Left on the economic as opposed to the cultural dimension? Previous research suggests that social democratic parties received an influx of centrist voters post-moderation but that these new centrist voters were less attached to the party and left in later elections, as did left-leaning social democrats frustrated by moderation strategies. This chapter further probes whether there is a link between moderation and individual voters’ shifts from social democratic parties at a later point, by considering a larger number of cases and by differentiating between the economic and cultural dimensions. We examine individual-level data on voting behavior combined with information on mainstream left parties’ ideological shifts in up to fifty elections in sixteen countries over recent decades. The findings show that (a) moderation can have detrimental consequences in the longer term; (b) the consequences of moderation differ across the left-right and cultural dimensions of electoral competition; and (c) the combination of individual-level analysis, with broader contextual and systemic considerations, is essential to fully engage with these questions. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/c1b50f05-ddad-471d-a1f1-3a8f1ba7c48b
- author
- Polk, Jonathan
LU
and Karreth, Johannes
- organization
- publishing date
- 2024
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- host publication
- Beyond Social Democracy : The Transformation of the Left in Emerging Knowledge Societies - The Transformation of the Left in Emerging Knowledge Societies
- editor
- Häusermann, Silja and Kitschelt, Herbert
- pages
- 279 - 313
- publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105011229038
- ISBN
- 9781009496810
- DOI
- 10.1017/9781009496810.013
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- c1b50f05-ddad-471d-a1f1-3a8f1ba7c48b
- date added to LUP
- 2024-10-10 09:26:15
- date last changed
- 2025-08-03 04:05:20
@inbook{c1b50f05-ddad-471d-a1f1-3a8f1ba7c48b,
abstract = {{To what extent does moderation in ideological positioning by social democratic parties affect their short- and long-term electoral fortunes? Do existing social democratic electorates respond differently to moderation from the major parties of the Moderate Left on the economic as opposed to the cultural dimension? Previous research suggests that social democratic parties received an influx of centrist voters post-moderation but that these new centrist voters were less attached to the party and left in later elections, as did left-leaning social democrats frustrated by moderation strategies. This chapter further probes whether there is a link between moderation and individual voters’ shifts from social democratic parties at a later point, by considering a larger number of cases and by differentiating between the economic and cultural dimensions. We examine individual-level data on voting behavior combined with information on mainstream left parties’ ideological shifts in up to fifty elections in sixteen countries over recent decades. The findings show that (a) moderation can have detrimental consequences in the longer term; (b) the consequences of moderation differ across the left-right and cultural dimensions of electoral competition; and (c) the combination of individual-level analysis, with broader contextual and systemic considerations, is essential to fully engage with these questions.}},
author = {{Polk, Jonathan and Karreth, Johannes}},
booktitle = {{Beyond Social Democracy : The Transformation of the Left in Emerging Knowledge Societies}},
editor = {{Häusermann, Silja and Kitschelt, Herbert}},
isbn = {{9781009496810}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{279--313}},
publisher = {{Cambridge University Press}},
title = {{Voter Responses to Social Democratic Ideological Moderation after the Third Way}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/197005659/voter-responses-to-social-democratic-ideological-moderation-after-the-third-way.pdf}},
doi = {{10.1017/9781009496810.013}},
year = {{2024}},
}