The closer, the better – How perceived ideological proximity between parties affects the emergence of coalition preferences
ABSTRACTWhile coalition governments have been studied extensively, there remains a lack of understanding of how coalition preferences emerge and what factors are the most influential. Utilising coalition formation theories, this study posits that voters tend to prefer coalitions with a narrower rang...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Political Research Exchange |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/2474736X.2024.2303130 |
| _version_ | 1797357606716571648 |
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| author | L. Constantin Wurthmann Svenja Krauss |
| author_facet | L. Constantin Wurthmann Svenja Krauss |
| author_sort | L. Constantin Wurthmann |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACTWhile coalition governments have been studied extensively, there remains a lack of understanding of how coalition preferences emerge and what factors are the most influential. Utilising coalition formation theories, this study posits that voters tend to prefer coalitions with a narrower range of ideological differences between 1.) the parties involved and 2.) between the voter and the party perceived to have the greatest ideological distance from the individual. Previous studies have mainly concentrated on a general left-right ideological dimension or specific issue dimensions, despite the fact that some of the countries analysed are characterized by a two-dimensional political space. Using Germany as a case study that exemplifies this inherent two-dimensionality, this analysis adopts a nuanced approach by employing the calculation of Euclidean distance based on socio-economic and socio-cultural measures. This approach aims to explain the formation of coalition preferences leading up to the federal election in 2021. Our results show how strongly the perceived ideological distance of parties contributes to developing preferences for a specific coalition option, even when controlling for party evaluation and socio-demographics. For this reason, they have important implications for the understanding of the emergence of coalition preferences and party competition. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T14:47:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-15575f0e684449448e48e383f0c6bdd2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2474-736X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T14:47:40Z |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Political Research Exchange |
| spelling | doaj.art-15575f0e684449448e48e383f0c6bdd22024-01-11T07:04:33ZengTaylor & Francis GroupPolitical Research Exchange2474-736X2024-12-016110.1080/2474736X.2024.2303130The closer, the better – How perceived ideological proximity between parties affects the emergence of coalition preferencesL. Constantin Wurthmann0Svenja Krauss1Data and Research on Society (DRS), National Election Studies, GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences Mannheim, GermanyDepartment of Government, University of Vienna, AustriaABSTRACTWhile coalition governments have been studied extensively, there remains a lack of understanding of how coalition preferences emerge and what factors are the most influential. Utilising coalition formation theories, this study posits that voters tend to prefer coalitions with a narrower range of ideological differences between 1.) the parties involved and 2.) between the voter and the party perceived to have the greatest ideological distance from the individual. Previous studies have mainly concentrated on a general left-right ideological dimension or specific issue dimensions, despite the fact that some of the countries analysed are characterized by a two-dimensional political space. Using Germany as a case study that exemplifies this inherent two-dimensionality, this analysis adopts a nuanced approach by employing the calculation of Euclidean distance based on socio-economic and socio-cultural measures. This approach aims to explain the formation of coalition preferences leading up to the federal election in 2021. Our results show how strongly the perceived ideological distance of parties contributes to developing preferences for a specific coalition option, even when controlling for party evaluation and socio-demographics. For this reason, they have important implications for the understanding of the emergence of coalition preferences and party competition.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/2474736X.2024.2303130Coalition preferencescoalition researchcoalition governmentGerman politicscoalition theory |
| spellingShingle | L. Constantin Wurthmann Svenja Krauss The closer, the better – How perceived ideological proximity between parties affects the emergence of coalition preferences Political Research Exchange Coalition preferences coalition research coalition government German politics coalition theory |
| title | The closer, the better – How perceived ideological proximity between parties affects the emergence of coalition preferences |
| title_full | The closer, the better – How perceived ideological proximity between parties affects the emergence of coalition preferences |
| title_fullStr | The closer, the better – How perceived ideological proximity between parties affects the emergence of coalition preferences |
| title_full_unstemmed | The closer, the better – How perceived ideological proximity between parties affects the emergence of coalition preferences |
| title_short | The closer, the better – How perceived ideological proximity between parties affects the emergence of coalition preferences |
| title_sort | closer the better how perceived ideological proximity between parties affects the emergence of coalition preferences |
| topic | Coalition preferences coalition research coalition government German politics coalition theory |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/2474736X.2024.2303130 |
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