Mean voter representation and partisan constituency representation: Do parties respond to the mean voter position or to their supporters?

Do political parties respond to shifts in the preferences of their supporters, which we label the partisan constituency model, or to shifts in the mean voter position (the general electorate model)? Cross-national analyses — based on observations from Eurobarometer surveys and parties’ policy progra...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Ezrow, Lawrence, Steenbergen, Marco, Edwards, Erica, de Vries, Catherine
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2010
País:España
Institución:IE
Repositorio:Repositorio IE
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.ie.edu:20.500.14417/4063
Acceso en línea:https://doi.org/10.1177/1354068810372100
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14417/4063
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1354068810372100
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:ODS 10 - Reducción de las desigualdades
ODS 16 - Paz, justicia e instituciones sólidas
Descripción
Sumario:Do political parties respond to shifts in the preferences of their supporters, which we label the partisan constituency model, or to shifts in the mean voter position (the general electorate model)? Cross-national analyses — based on observations from Eurobarometer surveys and parties’ policy programmes in 15 countries from 1973 to 2002 — suggest that the general electorate model characterizes the policy shifts of mainstream parties. Alternatively, when we analyse the policy shifts of Communist, Green and extreme Nationalist parties (i.e. ‘niche’ parties), we find that these parties respond to shifts in the mean position of their supporters. The findings have implications for spatial theories and political representation.