Disenchanted or Discerning: Voter Turnout in Post-Communist Countries

Pacek, Alexander C.; Pop-Eleches, Grigore; Tucker, Joshua A.

doi:10.1017/s0022381609090409

Cited by 109 publications

(80 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Political science literature that examines the impact of this satisfaction on voter turnout is divided into two camps (Pacek, Pop-Eleches, and Tucker 2009;Ezrow and Xesonakis 2016). Some literature, especially earlier work, perceives nonvoting as a sign of satisfaction with the current state of affairs (e.g., Tingsten [1937Tingsten [ ] 1963Wilson 1936;Lipset 1981).…”

Section: Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Chicken and Egg Question: Satisfaction with Democracy and Voter Turnout

Kostelka

Blais

2018

APSC

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Political scientists, analysts and journalists alike have long believed that the degree of satisfaction with the functioning of democracy determines voter turnout. We use survey data from 24 panel studies to demonstrate that this causal relationship is actually reversed: voter turnout affects satisfaction with democracy. We also show that this reversed relationship is conditioned by election type, electoral system, and election outcomes. These findings are important because: (1) They question conventional wisdom and a large body of scientific literature; (2) They invite a more nuanced approach towards the study of the relationship between evaluations of regime performance and political participation; and (3) They emphasize the vital role of elections in shaping citizens’ perception of the democratic process.

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Section: Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Chicken and Egg Question: Satisfaction with Democracy and Voter Turnout

Kostelka

Blais

2018

APSC

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“…A more adequate explanation from a long-term perspective asserts that turnout decline is linked to the deteriorating economic and political conditions. The first years of new democracies have been characterized by severe and growing economic hardship (such as hyperinflation and high unemployment rates) which had a negative impact on VT (Bell, 2001;Fauvelle-Aymar and Stegmaier, 2008;Mason, 2003;Pacek, 1994;Pacek, Pop-Eleches, and Tucker, 2009;Tworzecki 2003). Other studies (Blais, 2000;Blais and Aarts, 2006;Blais and Dobrzynska, 1998;Fornos, Power, and Garand, 2004;Kostadinova, 2003) report no clear relation between the economic conjuncture and turnout (Blais, 2006).…”

Section: Explaining Turnout Declinementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Turnout decline in former communist countries has attracted a great deal of scholarly attention. In order to explain turnout level and/or decline, most of the previous studies (Brady and McNulty, 2011;Inglehartand Catterberg, 2002;Kostadinova, 2003;Pacek, et al, 2009;Steiner, 2010) have proposed and tested hypotheses which focused on factors such as post-communist demobilization, socialization period, civil society, social capital, "post-honeymoon effect", deteriorating economic and political conditions, "electoral stakes", economic globalization and supra-national integration. In this paper, I re-test some of these hypotheses on new data and I propose a novel hypothesis that considers the fact that the former communist countries have experienced high rates of their citizens' transnational migration (I include here temporary, short and long term transnational migration).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Explaining Turnout Decline in Post-Communist Countries: The Impact of Migration

Comşa

2017

Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai Sociologia

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ABSTRACT. Turnout decline in former communist countries has attracted a great deal of scholarly attention. In this paper, I re-test some of the previous hypotheses on new data and I propose a new hypothesis that considers the impact of external migration. Using multivariate regression models on a dataset of 272 presidential and parliamentary elections held in 30 post-communist countries between 1989 and 2012, I have found strong support for the "migration hypothesis": other things being equal, an increase of migration rate by 1 percentage point reduces voter turnout by around 0.4 percentage points. Most of the previous hypotheses related to causes of turnout decline are supported too.

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“…The pessimistic mood finds it origin in the observation that political participation levels remain rather low in the formerly authoritarian regimes of Central and Eastern Europe. Despite the fact that these countries are democratic for more than two decades by now, that democratic elections have been held on a regular basis, and despite the fact that most countries have become a member state of the European Union, thus protecting basic human rights in a structural manner, political participation levels remain low, and there are very few indications these levels would rise in the near future (White & McAllister, 2007;Pacek, Pop-Eleches & Tucker, 2009;Neundorf, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Political participation in European countries: The effect of authoritarian rule, corruption, lack of good governance and economic downturn

Hooghe

Quintelier

2013

Comp Eur Polit

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Two decades after democratic transition, political participation levels in Central and Eastern Europe remain significantly lower than in Western European countries. While some authors invoke the socialization of citizens under authoritarian regimes as a cause, others hint at the fact that these countries still experience corruption, lack of good governance and low levels of economic development. In this article we test both theoretical claims, by conducting a multilevel analysis on the full sample of the European Social Survey (2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008), introducing a distinction between institutionalized and non-institutionalized forms of participation. The analysis demonstrates that, controlling for all relevant individual level characteristics, an authoritarian legacy, the perception of corruption, bad governance and low income levels have a negative impact on participation levels. Controlling for corruption levels and lack of good governance, the effect of an authoritarian legacy is rendered non-significant. An analysis by age and cohort suggests that the effect of current experiences with corruption are more powerful than the effect of an authoritarian legacy. As such, our findings support the claim that especially bad governance and corruption have a strong negative impact on civic engagement in Central and Eastern Europe.

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Disenchanted or Discerning: Voter Turnout in Post-Communist Countries

Cited by 109 publications

References 41 publications

The Chicken and Egg Question: Satisfaction with Democracy and Voter Turnout

The Chicken and Egg Question: Satisfaction with Democracy and Voter Turnout

Explaining Turnout Decline in Post-Communist Countries: The Impact of Migration

Political participation in European countries: The effect of authoritarian rule, corruption, lack of good governance and economic downturn

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