During electoral campaigns, the use of voting advice applications (VAAs) has become increasingly widespread. Consequently, scholars have examined both the patterns of usage and their effects on voting behaviour. However, existing studies lead to conflicting findings. In this article, we take a closer look at the effect of De Stemtest/Test électoral (a VAA developed by academics from the University of Louvain and the University of Antwerp, in partnership with Belgian media partners) on vote switching. More specifically, we divide this latter question into two sub-questions: (1) What is the impact of a (dis)confirming advice from the VAA on vote switching? (2) Do VAA users follow the voting advice provided by the VAA? Our study shows that receiving a disconfirming advice from the VAA increases the probability of users to switch their vote choice. |
Zoekresultaat: 36 artikelen
Article |
The Impact of VAAs on Vote Switching at the 2019 Belgian Legislative Elections: More Switchers, but Making Their Own Choices |
Tijdschrift | Politics of the Low Countries, Aflevering Online FIrst 2021 |
Trefwoorden | voting advice applications, vote switching, vote choice, elections and electoral behaviour, voters/citizens in Belgium, VAA |
Auteurs | David Talukder, Laura Uyttendaele, Isaïa Jennart e.a. |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
Artikel |
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Tijdschrift | Beleid en Maatschappij, Aflevering 4 2020 |
Trefwoorden | residential segregation, Framing, welfare regimes, structural factors, individual preferences |
Auteurs | Prof. dr. Sako Musterd |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
In the Netherlands and surrounding countries, there is reason to ask the question whether levels of segregation according to country of origin (mainly non-western) and in terms of socioeconomic position (mainly social arrears) are sufficiently high to legitimate anti-segregation policy. When will segregation become problematic? If segregation is regarded a problem, what, then, would be the best remedy? Spatial intervention? Or broader societal intervention? In this article developments and mechanisms will be discussed that lead to segregation; also political views on segregation and the framing of segregation will be scrutinized. A confrontation of knowledge, insights, visions, and framings offers material for new perspectives on residential segregation and is reason to argue for a more relaxed attitude towards segregation. We should acknowledge that the process of matching households to residential environments results in some – generally unproblematic – segregation. Only if segregation causes problems that pass certain intensity and/or a certain spatial range, non-spatial or spatial interventions are becoming a necessity. Levels of segregation are relatively moderate still. We ought to be more aware of the fact that strong negative framing actually stimulates segregation, social exclusion, division, discrimination, marginalisation, stigmatisation, fear, estrangement, and the development of first- and second-rate citizens. |
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 |
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. |
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. |
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 |
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 |
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. |
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. |
Article |
Deliberation Out of the Laboratory into DemocracyQuasi-Experimental Research on Deliberative Opinions in Antwerp’s Participatory Budgeting |
Tijdschrift | Politics of the Low Countries, Aflevering 1 2020 |
Trefwoorden | Deliberative democracy, mini-publics, participatory budget, social learning, deliberative opinions |
Auteurs | Thibaut Renson |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
The theoretical assumptions of deliberative democracy are increasingly embraced by policymakers investing in local practices, while the empirical verifications are often not on an equal footing. One such assertion concerns the stimulus of social learning among participants of civic democratic deliberation. Through the use of pre-test/post-test panel data, it is tested whether participation in mini-publics stimulates the cognitive and attitudinal indicators of social learning. The main contribution of this work lies in the choice of matching this quasi-experimental set-up with a natural design. This study explores social learning across deliberation through which local policymakers invite their citizens to participate in actual policymaking. This analysis on the District of Antwerp’s participatory budgeting demonstrates stronger social learning in real-world policymaking. These results inform a richer theory on the impacts of deliberation, as well as better use of limited resources for local (participatory) policymaking. |
Article |
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Tijdschrift | Politics of the Low Countries, Aflevering 3 2019 |
Trefwoorden | voting, elections, blank vote, invalid vote, abstention |
Auteurs | Jean-Benoit Pilet, Maria Jimena Sanhuza, David Talukder e.a. |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
In this article, we propose an in-depth exploration of blank and null ballots in the recent 2018 local elections in Wallonia (Belgium). In the official results, both blank and null ballots are merged together and are classified as invalid votes. After obtaining the authorization to access genuine electoral ballots, we study the votes which were not considered for the composition of local councils in detail. The dataset is a representative sample of 13,243 invalidated ballots from 49 Walloon municipalities. We first describe how many of these invalidated ballots are blank and how many are null votes, as well as the nature of the nulled votes (unintended errors or intentionally spoiled ballots). Second, we dig deeper into the differences between ballots that have been intentionally invalidated by voters (blank votes and intentional null votes) and ballots non-intentionally invalidated. Our results show that most of the ballots (two-thirds) are null ballots and that among them, half are unintentional null ballots. Finally, we show that contextual (socio-demographic and political) factors explain the variations in intentional and unintentional null votes across municipalities. |
Article |
How to Improve Local TurnoutThe Effect of Municipal Efforts to Improve Turnout in Dutch Local Elections |
Tijdschrift | Politics of the Low Countries, Aflevering 3 2019 |
Trefwoorden | turnout, local elections, get out the vote, campaign, the Netherlands |
Auteurs | Julien van Ostaaijen, Sabine van Zuydam en Martijn Epskamp |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
Even though many municipalities use a variety of means to improve turnout in local elections, citizen participation in local elections is a point of concern in many Western countries, including the Netherlands. Our research question is therefore: How effective are municipal efforts to improve turnout in (Dutch) local elections? To this end, we collected data from three sources: (1) a survey sent to the municipal clerks of 389 Dutch municipalities to learn what they do to improve turnout; (2) data from Statistics Netherlands on municipalities’ socio-demographic characteristics; and (3) data on the turnout in local elections from the Dutch Electoral Council database. Using hierarchical multiple regression analysis, we found that the direct impact of local governments’ efforts to improve turnout is low. Nevertheless, some measures seem to be able to make a difference. The relative number of polling stations was especially found to impact turnout. |
Article |
Split-Ticket Voting in BelgiumAn Analysis of the Presence and Determinants of Differentiated Voting in the Municipal and Provincial Elections of 2018 |
Tijdschrift | Politics of the Low Countries, Aflevering 3 2019 |
Trefwoorden | split-ticket voting, local elections, voting motives, Belgium, PR-system |
Auteurs | Tony Valcke en Tom Verhelst |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
This article tackles the particular issue of split-ticket voting, which has been largely overlooked in Belgian election studies thus far. We contribute to the literature by answering two particular research questions: (1) to what extent and (2) why do voters cast a different vote in the elections for the provincial council as compared to their vote in the elections for the municipal council? |
Artikel |
Leren en werken voor vluchtelingen: beleid en interventies in drie grote gemeenten. |
Tijdschrift | Beleid en Maatschappij, Aflevering 1 2019 |
Trefwoorden | Refugees, Asylum seekers, Labour market integration, Participation, Local integration policies |
Auteurs | Dr. Jeanine Klaver, Prof. dr. Jaco Dagevos, Dr. Rianne Dekker e.a. |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
Municipalities have increasingly adjusted their policies in order to better respond to the problematic social and economic participation of permit holders. The core elements within the chosen policies seem to consist of an early activation, combining language and professional training, and providing customization in the support of these newcomers. In this article, this policy change has been studied in the municipalities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht. It becomes clear that a more successful approach only succeeds when permit holders are offered additional and tailored support. For all three municipalities, this means that more permit holders are reached by the available support measures and that local policy makers can better respond to individual needs and possibilities. In addition, these municipalities pay more attention for sustainable labour market participation. At the same time, it is evident that no rapid successes are being made with this new course. In particular, more vulnerable permit holders, including those with low levels of education and women, are not always reached by municipalities. We also see that many of these newcomers must be supported for a long time, even if after have found a place on the labour market. Therefore, evidence suggests that without additional measures there is a good chance that the perspective on social and economic participation for many permit holders in the Netherlands will be extremely limited. |
Article |
Consensus Democracy and Bureaucracy in the Low Countries |
Tijdschrift | Politics of the Low Countries, Aflevering 1 2019 |
Trefwoorden | consensus democracy, bureaucracy, governance system, Lijphart, policymaking |
Auteurs | Frits van der Meer, Caspar van den Berg, Charlotte van Dijck e.a. |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
Taking Lijphart’s work on consensus democracies as our point of departure, we signal a major shortcoming in Lijphart’s focus being almost exclusively on the political hardware of the state structure, leaving little attention for the administrative and bureaucratic characteristics of governance systems. We propose to expand the Lijphart’s model which overviews structural aspects of the executive and the state with seven additional features of the bureaucratic system. We argue that these features are critical for understanding the processes of policymaking and service delivery. Next, in order to better understand the functioning of the Netherlands and Belgium as consensus democracies, we provide a short analysis of the historical context and current characteristics of the political-administrative systems in both countries. |
Article |
Transformative Welfare Reform in Consensus Democracies |
Tijdschrift | Politics of the Low Countries, Aflevering 1 2019 |
Trefwoorden | consensus democracy, welfare state, social investment, transformative reform, Belgium and the Netherlands |
Auteurs | Anton Hemerijck en Kees van Kersbergen |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
This article takes up Lijphart’s claim that consensus democracy is a ‘kinder, gentler’ form of democracy than majoritarian democracy. We zoom in on contemporary welfare state change, particularly the shift towards social investment, and argue that the kinder, gentler hypothesis remains relevant. Consensus democracies stand out in regard to the extent to which their political institutions help to overcome the politically delicate intricacies of governing for the long term. We theorize the features that can help to solve the problem of temporal commitment in democracy through processual mechanisms and illustrate these with short case studies of the contrasting welfare state reform experiences in the Netherlands and Belgium. |
Artikel |
Verkeer als stelsel met stelselverantwoordelijkheid voor veiligheid?Naar een moderne governance opvatting van ‘co-responsibility’ bij stelsels |
Tijdschrift | Bestuurskunde, Aflevering 1 2018 |
Trefwoorden | traffic safety, systems approach, governance, co-responsibility |
Auteurs | Dr. mr. Dick Ruimschotel |
Samenvatting |
Lack of safety leading to death or injury has many aspects: personal violence, traffic, accidents at home or the work place, not to mention other external sources as radiation and fine dust or internal sources like diseases. In this paper we restrict ourselves to the lack of safety in traffic as a system, and address the following questions: (1) Is traffic a system with one dominant responsible actor (Ministry of Traffic)? (2) What explanations are offered for the lack of safety? (3) Who is responsible for safety? (4) What sort of interventions are suitable for enhancing safety? and (5) What type of process/consultancy is most appropriate for answer the preceding questions? |
Article |
De etnische politieke elite van Nederland: gewoon geworden door ongewoon te zijn? |
Tijdschrift | Res Publica, Aflevering 4 2017 |
Trefwoorden | ethnic minorities, political representation, the Netherlands, compensation, similarity |
Auteurs | Roos van der Zwan en Tomas Turner-Zwinkels |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
This article compares the study and professional backgrounds of ethnic minority and native Dutch MPs in the Netherlands using self-collected data from 2010-2016. We build on previous studies and further develop and test the compensation and similarity model. We expected that ethnic minorities compensate with regard to the duration of their education and the length of their professional and pre-parliamentarian political careers. Furthermore, in line with the similarity model, we expected greater similarities between ethnic minority and Dutch MPs in terms of their educational and professional backgrounds and political experience. The results show more evidence for the similarity model than for the compensation model. We find that ethnic minority MPs have similar educational levels and types of political experience as Dutch MPs, however, contrary to the expectation they do not have more but less years of professional and pre-parliamentarian political experience. |