The Act of Voting: Identities, Institutions and Locale

Description

Electoral behaviour is one of the most dynamic areas of study in the field of comparative politics today. A strongly emerging theme in recent years has been the need to set the study of voting behaviour in its wider context, that is to understand how the behaviour of the individual (non)voter is conditioned by the environment in which the election is occurring. The main motivation for this book is to respond to this need. The Act of Voting examines voting – both the question of whether to vote (ie. electoral turnout) and who to vote for – in context from a range of interdisciplinary perspectives. In addition to other topics and themes, chapters explore the national or social identities of individuals and how these contribute to complex social dynamics, discuss the institutions that determine who is able to vote and over what, and analyse the impact of the locale on the voting act. Offering chapters by up-and-coming scholars in the field of electoral behaviour, as well as reflections on how the act of voting should be viewed in the broadest context – normatively, institutionally and socially, this book will be of interest to students and scholars researching political behaviour, public opinion and politics more generally. Contents List of figures List of Tables Notes on contributors Preface 1 The act of voting: identities, institutions and locale • Johan A. Elkink and David M. Farrell Part I: Identity and the act of voting 2 European identities in comparative perspective • Anthony F. Heath and Thees Spreckelsen 3 Does Ulster still say ‘no’? Public opinion and the future of Northern Ireland • John Coakley Part II: Institutions and the act of voting 4 Transnational citizenship and access to electoral rights: defining the demos in European states • Iseult Honohan and Derek Hutcheson 5 Electoral processes and presidential elections in ‘presidential republics’ • Jean Blondel 6 EU treaty referendums in Ireland and Denmark: a comparative analysis of different conceptions of sovereignty and their democratic implications • Palle Svensson 7 Confronting Europe: the Irish referendums on Lisbon • Brigid Laffan Part III: Locale and the act of voting 8 Locality in Irish voter preferences • Michael O’Kelly 9 Candidates, parties and constituency relations: a study in Irish clientelism • Søren Risbjerg Thomsen and Jane Suiter 10 Exploring the non-alignment of party and candidate assessments in Ireland: do voters really follow candidates? • Michael Marsh and Laura Maria Schwirz Part IV: Turnout and vote choice 11 Intention to vote, reported vote and validated vote • Christopher H. Achen and André Blais 12 Political inequality in second order elections: resources, campaign mobilization and voter turnout • Susan Banducci 13 R eligion, electoral participation and party support in Northern Ireland • Bernadette C. Hayes and Ian McAllister 14 Identity formation and political generations: age, cohort and period effects in Irish elections • Stephen Quinlan 15 The act of voting in context • Johan A. Elkink and David M. Farrell Index