Worlds apart: The impact of (in)congruence on electoral behaviour: When voters and parties do not align

This thesis provides a comprehensive analysis of the impact of ideological incongruence between voters and political parties on electoral behaviour in European democracies. It introduces a novel approach to measuring the ideological distances within party systems, demonstrating that greater incongru...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Ioannidis, Nikandros
Tipo de recurso: tesis doctoral
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:CBUC, CESCA
Repositorio:TDR. Tesis Doctorales en Red
OAI Identifier:oai:www.tdx.cat:10803/693728
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10803/693728
Access Level:acceso embargado
Palabra clave:Ideological incongruence
Electoral behaviour
Political representation
Democratic engagement
Parties
Elections
Incongruència ideológica
Comportament electoral
Representació política
Compromís democràtic
Partits
Eleccions
32
Descripción
Sumario:This thesis provides a comprehensive analysis of the impact of ideological incongruence between voters and political parties on electoral behaviour in European democracies. It introduces a novel approach to measuring the ideological distances within party systems, demonstrating that greater incongruence leads to higher voter abstention rates. The research further investigates how information on ideological proximity affects voters' participation and the congruence of their voting choices, revealing that while informed voters are more likely to participate, their specific voting decisions remain unaffected. Additionally, the study examines the consequences of voters' perceived detachment from political parties, showing that a lack of ideologically proximate parties significantly reduces electoral participation. These findings highlight the importance of ideological alignment for democratic engagement and suggest that improving voter-party congruence could mitigate voter disengagement and abstention, thereby improving the quality of political representation and the robustness of electoral democracies.