In this article, we investigate the moderating role of political sophistication on the vote for populist parties in Belgium. Building on the literature about the diverse determinants of populist party support, we investigate whether issue considerations and populism-related motivations play a bigger role in the electoral calculus of politically sophisticated voters. |
Zoekresultaat: 137 artikelen
Call for papers |
Parliaments in the Low Countries: Representing Divided Societies |
Tijdschrift | Politics of the Low Countries, Aflevering 3 2020 |
Article |
Political Sophistication and Populist Party SupportThe Case of PTB-PVDA and VB in the 2019 Belgian Elections |
Tijdschrift | Politics of the Low Countries, Aflevering 3 2020 |
Trefwoorden | populist voters, political sophistication, voting motivations, Belgium, elections |
Auteurs | Marta Gallina, Pierre Baudewyns en Jonas Lefevere |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
Article |
How Issue Salience Pushes Voters to the Left or to the Right |
Tijdschrift | Politics of the Low Countries, Aflevering 3 2020 |
Trefwoorden | voting behaviour, salience, ideological dimensions, elections, Belgium |
Auteurs | Stefaan Walgrave, Patrick van Erkel, Isaïa Jennart e.a. |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
Recent research demonstrates that political parties in western Europe are generally structured along one dimension – and often take more or less similar ideological positions on the economic and cultural dimension – whereas the policy preferences of voters are structured two dimensionally; a considerable part of the electorate combines left-wing stances on one dimension with right-wing stances on the other. These ideologically ‘unserved’ voters are the main focus of this study. Using data from a large-scale survey in Flanders and Wallonia, we demonstrate how the salience of the two dimensions explains whether these unserved voters ultimately end up voting for a right-wing or a left-wing party. Specifically, we show that these voters elect a party that is ideologically closest on the dimension that they deem most important at that time. To summarise, the findings of this study confirm that salience is a key driver of electoral choice, especially for cross-pressured voters. |
Article |
Drivers of Support for the Populist Radical Left and Populist Radical Right in BelgiumAn Analysis of the VB and the PVDA-PTB Vote at the 2019 Elections |
Tijdschrift | Politics of the Low Countries, Aflevering 3 2020 |
Trefwoorden | populism, voting, behaviour, Belgium, elections |
Auteurs | Ine Goovaerts, Anna Kern, Emilie van Haute e.a. |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
This study investigates how protest attitudes and ideological considerations affected the 2019 election results in Belgium, and particularly the vote for the radical right-wing populist party Vlaams Belang (VB) and for the radical left-wing populist party Partij van de Arbeid-Parti du Travail de Belgique (PVDA-PTB). Our results confirm that both protest attitudes and ideological considerations play a role to distinguish radical populist voters from mainstream party voters in general. However, when opposed to their second-best choice, we show that particularly protest attitudes matter. Moreover, in comparing radical right- and left-wing populist voters, the article disentangles the respective weight of these drivers on the two ends of the political spectrum. Being able to portray itself as an alternative to mainstream can give these parties an edge among a certain category of voters, albeit this position is also difficult to hold in the long run. |
Research Note |
Campaigning Online and Offline: Different Ballgames?Presidentialization, Issue Attention and Negativity in Parties’ Facebook and Newspaper Ads in the 2019 Belgian General Elections |
Tijdschrift | Politics of the Low Countries, Aflevering 3 2020 |
Trefwoorden | political advertising, Belgium, social media, newspapers, campaign |
Auteurs | Jonas Lefevere, Peter Van Aelst en Jeroen Peeters |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
This Research Note investigates party advertising in newspapers and on social media (Facebook) during the 2019 general elections in Flanders, the largest region of Belgium. The 2019 elections saw a marked increase in the use of social media advertising by parties, whereas newspaper advertising saw a decline. Prior research that compares multiple types of advertising, particularly advertising on social and legacy media remains limited. As such, based on a quantitative content analysis we investigate not just the prevalence of party advertising on both types of media, but also compare the level of negativity, presidentialisation, and issue emphasis. Our analysis reveals substantial differences: we find that not only the type of advertisements varies across the platforms, but also that social media ads tend to be more negative. Finally, parties’ issue emphasis varies substantially as well, with different issues being emphasized in newspaper and Facebook advertisements. |
Article |
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Tijdschrift | Politics of the Low Countries, Aflevering 3 2020 |
Trefwoorden | Belgian politics, democratic reforms, elections, populist voters, representative democracy |
Auteurs | Lisa van Dijk, Thomas Legein, Jean-Benoit Pilet e.a. |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
Recently, studies have burgeoned on the link between populism and demands for democratic reforms. In particular, scholars have been debating the link between populist citizens or voters and support for referendums. In this article, we examine voters of populist parties (Vlaams Belang (VB) and Parti du Travail de Belgique-Partij van de Arbeid (PTB-PVDA)) in Belgium in 2019 and we look at their attitudes towards various types of democratic reforms. We find that voters of populist parties differ from the non-populist electorate in their support for different kinds of reforms of representative democracy. Voters of VB and PTB-PVDA have in common stronger demands for limiting politicians’ prerogatives, for introducing binding referendums and for participatory budgeting. While Vlaams Belang voters are not significantly different from the non-populist electorate on advisory referendums, citizens’ forums or technocratic reform, PVDA-PTB voters seem more enthusiastic. |
Article |
Emotions and Vote ChoiceAn Analysis of the 2019 Belgian Elections |
Tijdschrift | Politics of the Low Countries, Aflevering 3 2020 |
Trefwoorden | Belgium, elections, emotions, voting behaviour |
Auteurs | Caroline Close en Emilie van Haute |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
This article digs into the relationship between voters’ political resentment and their electoral choice in 2019 by focusing on the respondents’ emotions towards politics. Using the RepResent 2019 voter survey, eight emotions are analysed in their relation to voting behaviour: four negative (anger, bitterness, worry and fear) and four positive (hope, relief, joy and satisfaction). We confirm that voters’ emotional register is at least two-dimensional, with one positive and one negative dimension, opening the possibility for different combinations of emotions towards politics. We also find different emotional patterns across party choices, and more crucially, we uncover a significant effect of emotions (especially negative ones) on vote choice, even when controlling for other determinants. Finally, we look at the effect of election results on emotions and we observe a potential winner vs. loser effect with distinctive dynamics in Flanders and in Wallonia. |
Editorial |
Explaining Vote Choice in the 2019 Belgian ElectionsDemocratic, Populist and Emotional Drivers |
Tijdschrift | Politics of the Low Countries, Aflevering 3 2020 |
Auteurs | Patrick van Erkel, Anna Kern en Guillaume Petit |
Auteursinformatie |
Artikel |
De corona-uitbraak en het institutionele filter: naar een verklaring van West-Europese variaties in beleid |
Tijdschrift | Bestuurs­wetenschappen, Aflevering 4 2020 |
Auteurs | Prof. dr. Frank Hendriks |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
While authorities sometimes make it appear that the coronavirus outbreak in the first half of 2020 did not allow for policies other than those in place, we saw remarkable variations in policy approaches in Western Europe. Governments almost everywhere pushed for ‘social distancing’, but differences in wording and communication, and implementation and enforcement emerged that could not be entirely explained by differences in the manifestation of the coronavirus. In order to understand and explain such differences, this article points out the institutional filter that exists between the corona threat and policy action. The interaction between two central components of the institutional filter – national culture and state tradition – is elaborated in this article for six Western European countries in particular: the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom, on the one hand, and Belgium, France and Italy, on the one hand. Policy action in these countries is largely consistent with what could be expected given the combinations of national culture and state tradition in these countries. The institutional filter forms a comprehensive framework with which more specific explanations from social trust or manifest public leadership can be placed. |
Research Note |
Caretaker Cabinets in Belgium: A New Measurement and Typology |
Tijdschrift | Politics of the Low Countries, Aflevering Online First 2020 |
Trefwoorden | caretaker government, Belgium, cabinets, political crisis |
Auteurs | Régis Dandoy en Lorenzo Terrière |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
Belgium is probably the world’s best known case of where caretaker governments reside. Yet a clear scholarly definition and measurement of this concept is missing. Based on a detailed analysis of the Belgian federal cabinets, this research note explores the main characteristics and measures the length of the various caretaker periods. We find that Belgium was governed for no less than 1,485 days by a caretaker government between 2007 and 2020, which equals more than four full calendar years. This research note also presents a novel typology of caretaker periods based on the institutional and political practice within the Belgian legislative and executive branches. This typology can be used to assess caretaker periods at other levels of government as well as in other countries in order to improve our understanding of the many ‘faces’ that a caretaker government can take on. |
Article |
Getting Party Activists on Local ListsHow Dutch Local Party Branches Perform Their Recruitment Function |
Tijdschrift | Politics of the Low Countries, Aflevering 2 2020 |
Trefwoorden | municipal politics, political parties, candidate lists, local party branches, recruitment |
Auteurs | Simon Otjes, Marcel Boogers en Gerrit Voerman |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
This article examines what explains the performance of Dutch local party branches in the recruitment of candidates for municipal councils. Fielding a list of candidates is the most basic function of political parties. In the Netherlands, party branches are under pressure from the low number of party members. To analyse how branches fulfil their role in recruitment, we employ our own survey of the secretaries of party branches held in the run-up to the 2018 municipal election. We find that party membership drives the successful fulfilment of the recruitment function but that, more than the absolute number of members, the crucial factors are how these party members cooperate, the number of active members and the development of this number. |
Article |
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Tijdschrift | Politics of the Low Countries, Aflevering 2 2020 |
Trefwoorden | local politics, local party branches, local elections, gender quotas, Belgium |
Auteurs | Robin Devroe, Silvia Erzeel en Petra Meier |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
This article investigates the feminisation of local politics. Starting from the observation that the representation of women in local electoral politics lags behind the regional and federal level, and taking into account the relevance of local party branches in the recruitment and selection of candidates for elections, we examine the extent to which there is an ‘internal’ feminisation of local party branches and how this links to the ‘external’ feminisation of local electoral politics. Based on surveys among local party chairs, the article maps patterns of feminisation over time and across parties, investigates problems local branches encounter in the recruitment of candidates for local elections, and analyses the (attitudes towards the) measures taken to further the integration of women in local electoral politics. We conclude that internal and external feminisation do not always go hand in hand and that local politics continues to be a male-dominated political biotope. |
Article |
Introduction: Parties at the GrassrootsLocal Party Branches in the Low Countries |
Tijdschrift | Politics of the Low Countries, Aflevering 2 2020 |
Auteurs | Bram Wauters, Simon Otjes en Emilie van Haute |
Auteursinformatie |
PhD Review |
‘Between party and parliament: The roles of parliamentary party group leaders in partitocratic Belgium’PhD by Benjamin de Vet (Ghent University), supervisors: Bram Wauters & Carl Devos |
Tijdschrift | Politics of the Low Countries, Aflevering 2 2020 |
Auteurs | Tom Louwerse |
Auteursinformatie |
Article |
Between Party Democracy and Citizen DemocracyExplaining Attitudes of Flemish Local Chairs Towards Democratic Innovations |
Tijdschrift | Politics of the Low Countries, Aflevering 2 2020 |
Trefwoorden | democratic innovations, citizen participation, local politics, Flanders, Belgium |
Auteurs | Didier Caluwaerts, Anna Kern, Min Reuchamps e.a. |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
As a response to the perceived legitimacy crisis that threatens modern democracies, local government has increasingly become a laboratory for democratic renewal and citizen participation. This article studies whether and why local party chairs support democratic innovations fostering more citizen participation. More specifically, we analyse the relative weight of ideas, interests and institutions in explaining their support for citizen-centred democracy. Based on the Belgian Local Chairs Survey in 2018 (albeit restricting our analysis to Flanders), the central finding is that ideas matter more than interests and institutions. Ideology is alive and kicking with regard to democratic innovation, with socialist and ecologist parties and populist parties being most supportive of participatory arrangements. By contrast, interests and institutions play, at this stage, a minor role in explaining support for participatory innovations. |
PhD Review |
‘From decline to revival? An analysis of party membership fluctuations in Western Europe (1990-2014)’PhD by Vivien Sierens (Université libre de Bruxelles) supervisors: Emilie van Haute, Silvia Erzeel |
Tijdschrift | Politics of the Low Countries, Aflevering 2 2020 |
Auteurs | Audrey Vandeleene |
Auteursinformatie |
Article |
Like Mother, Like Daughter?Linkage Between Local Branches and Their National Party Headquarters in Belgium |
Tijdschrift | Politics of the Low Countries, Aflevering 2 2020 |
Trefwoorden | local branches, national party headquarters, linkage, integration, multilevel parties |
Auteurs | Kristof Steyvers |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
This article scrutinises local-national linkage in Belgium to better understand territorial power relations in multilevel parties. Drawing on a survey of local chairs of national parties, it adopts an innovative, informal and bottom-up approach. The descriptive analysis reveals two central axes in the morphology of linkage: scope (downward support and upward influence) and surplus (benefits versus costs). However, (the valuation of) this interdependence appears as a matter of degree. The explanatory analysis therefore probes into the effect of macro- (between environments), meso- (between parties) and micro- (within parties) level factors. It demonstrates that variance is explained by different parameters. For scope, differences between parties trump those within them. For surplus, specific differences between parties as well as within them matter. The answer to our guiding question is therefore variegated: it depends on for what and for whom. |
Article |
An Actor Approach to MediatizationLinking Politicians’ Media Perceptions, Communication Behaviour and Appearances in the News |
Tijdschrift | Politics of the Low Countries, Aflevering Online First 2020 |
Trefwoorden | mediatization, politicians, news media, media perceptions, news management |
Auteurs | Pauline Ketelaars en Peter Van Aelst |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
In the light of the broader debate on the mediatization of politics, this study wants to better understand how the media perceptions and media behaviour of politicians are related to their appearances in the news. We opt for an innovative actor-centred approach to actually measure the views and actions of individual politicians. We combine surveys conducted with 142 Belgian representatives with data on politicians’ external communication behaviour and on their appearances in television news, newspapers and news websites. The results show that media behaviour is not so much related to beliefs of media importance. We do find a significant positive relationship between strategic media behaviour and media attention suggesting that politicians who put in more effort appear more often in various news media. However, this positive relationship depends on the specific form of strategic communication and the political position of the legislator. Our study adds to the mediatization literature by showing how and when politicians are successful in obtaining media attention. |
Article |
Interest Representation in BelgiumMapping the Size and Diversity of an Interest Group Population in a Multi-layered Neo-corporatist Polity |
Tijdschrift | Politics of the Low Countries, Aflevering Online First 2020 |
Trefwoorden | interest groups, advocacy, access, advisory councils, media attention |
Auteurs | Evelien Willems, Jan Beyers en Frederik Heylen |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
This article assesses the size and diversity of Belgium’s interest group population by triangulating four data sources. Combining various sources allows us to describe which societal interests get mobilised, which interest organisations become politically active and who gains access to the policy process and obtains news media attention. Unique about the project is the systematic data collection, enabling us to compare interest representation at the national, Flemish and Francophone-Walloon government levels. We find that: (1) the national government level remains an important venue for interest groups, despite the continuous transfer of competences to the subnational and European levels, (2) neo-corporatist mobilisation patterns are a persistent feature of interest representation, despite substantial interest group diversity and (3) interest mobilisation substantially varies across government levels and political-administrative arenas. |
Research Note |
Campaigning Online and Offline: Different Ballgames?Presidentialization, Issue Attention and Negativity in Parties’ Facebook and Newspaper Ads in the 2019 Belgian General Elections |
Tijdschrift | Politics of the Low Countries, Aflevering Online First 2020 |
Trefwoorden | political advertising, Belgium, social media, newspapers, campaign |
Auteurs | Jonas Lefevere, Peter Van Aelst en Jeroen Peeters |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
This Research Note investigates party advertising in newspapers and on social media (Facebook) during the 2019 general elections in Flanders, the largest region of Belgium. The 2019 elections saw a marked increase in the use of social media advertising by parties, whereas newspaper advertising saw a decline. Prior research that compares multiple types of advertising, particularly advertising on social and legacy media remains limited. As such, based on a quantitative content analysis we investigate not just the prevalence of party advertising on both types of media, but also compare the level of negativity, presidentialisation, and issue emphasis. Our analysis reveals substantial differences: we find that not only the type of advertisements varies across the platforms, but also that social media ads tend to be more negative. Finally, parties’ issue emphasis varies substantially as well, with different issues being emphasized in newspaper and Facebook advertisements. |