Left Behind Together and Voting for Populism: Regional Out-Migration, Civic Engagement and the Electoral Success of Populist Radical Right Parties
According to the academic debate, the populist radical right is particularly successful in regions that have been left behind economically or culturally. Although civic engagement in networks of civil society, a specific form of social capital, seems important, its influence remains ambiguous. In co...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Social Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/8/426 |
| _version_ | 1797583183823241216 |
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| author | Stephan Schütze |
| author_facet | Stephan Schütze |
| author_sort | Stephan Schütze |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | According to the academic debate, the populist radical right is particularly successful in regions that have been left behind economically or culturally. Although civic engagement in networks of civil society, a specific form of social capital, seems important, its influence remains ambiguous. In contrast, regional out-migration as a social dimension of being left behind receives limited attention despite the relevance of internal migration to political geography. This study investigates two theoretically possible models to clarify the relationships between regional out-migration, civic engagement, and their impacts on voting for the populist radical right. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and official regional statistics, logistic multilevel analyses are conducted for Germany and the election of the AfD (Alternative for Germany) in the 2017 federal election. The key finding of the cross-sectional analysis is that regional out-migration is a condition that moderates the relationship between civic participation and the election of the AfD. In general, civically involved individuals support established democratic parties, but in regions with high out-migration, they tend to vote for the populist radical right. However, there is no empirical evidence that regional out-migration contributes to the election of the AfD by reducing civic engagement and being mediated by it. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:34:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0b7d864fb8ee41f2ba279a5c8ae482e6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0760 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:34:18Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-0b7d864fb8ee41f2ba279a5c8ae482e62023-11-19T03:01:01ZengMDPI AGSocial Sciences2076-07602023-07-0112842610.3390/socsci12080426Left Behind Together and Voting for Populism: Regional Out-Migration, Civic Engagement and the Electoral Success of Populist Radical Right PartiesStephan Schütze0Faculty of Sociology, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, GermanyAccording to the academic debate, the populist radical right is particularly successful in regions that have been left behind economically or culturally. Although civic engagement in networks of civil society, a specific form of social capital, seems important, its influence remains ambiguous. In contrast, regional out-migration as a social dimension of being left behind receives limited attention despite the relevance of internal migration to political geography. This study investigates two theoretically possible models to clarify the relationships between regional out-migration, civic engagement, and their impacts on voting for the populist radical right. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and official regional statistics, logistic multilevel analyses are conducted for Germany and the election of the AfD (Alternative for Germany) in the 2017 federal election. The key finding of the cross-sectional analysis is that regional out-migration is a condition that moderates the relationship between civic participation and the election of the AfD. In general, civically involved individuals support established democratic parties, but in regions with high out-migration, they tend to vote for the populist radical right. However, there is no empirical evidence that regional out-migration contributes to the election of the AfD by reducing civic engagement and being mediated by it.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/8/426internal migrationregional out-migrationleft behind placessocial capitalcivic engagementvoting behavior |
| spellingShingle | Stephan Schütze Left Behind Together and Voting for Populism: Regional Out-Migration, Civic Engagement and the Electoral Success of Populist Radical Right Parties Social Sciences internal migration regional out-migration left behind places social capital civic engagement voting behavior |
| title | Left Behind Together and Voting for Populism: Regional Out-Migration, Civic Engagement and the Electoral Success of Populist Radical Right Parties |
| title_full | Left Behind Together and Voting for Populism: Regional Out-Migration, Civic Engagement and the Electoral Success of Populist Radical Right Parties |
| title_fullStr | Left Behind Together and Voting for Populism: Regional Out-Migration, Civic Engagement and the Electoral Success of Populist Radical Right Parties |
| title_full_unstemmed | Left Behind Together and Voting for Populism: Regional Out-Migration, Civic Engagement and the Electoral Success of Populist Radical Right Parties |
| title_short | Left Behind Together and Voting for Populism: Regional Out-Migration, Civic Engagement and the Electoral Success of Populist Radical Right Parties |
| title_sort | left behind together and voting for populism regional out migration civic engagement and the electoral success of populist radical right parties |
| topic | internal migration regional out-migration left behind places social capital civic engagement voting behavior |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/8/426 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT stephanschutze leftbehindtogetherandvotingforpopulismregionaloutmigrationcivicengagementandtheelectoralsuccessofpopulistradicalrightparties |