Proximity and directional theory compared: Taking discriminant positions seriously in multi-party systems

Zoltán Fazekas*, Zsombor Zoltán Méder

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

18 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper tackles the problem of comparison between proximity and directional voting in 27 European multi-party systems. This is a previously unaddressed aspect of European spatial issue voting.We focus on the spatial voting theories as predictors of vote intention, evaluating the extent of proximity and directional voting. We describe the influence of identical predictions on the comparison of these theories. Our multilevel analysis of the 2009 European Election Study data shows more empirical support for proximity voting than directional voting in the countries analyzed. It does this by clearly differentiating between those caseswhere it is possible to compare proximity and directional voting and where this is impossible. Nevertheless, the prevalence of proximity theory decreases in more polarized party-systems.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)693-707
Number of pages15
JournalElectoral Studies
Volume32
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec-2013
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • proximity voting
  • directional voting
  • discriminant predictions
  • cross-country comparison

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