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

Abstract

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.

Homeownership, Political Participation, and Social Capital in Post‐Communist Countries and Western Europe

“…Participation in strikes, demonstrations, and petitions in post‐communist countries is substantially lower than in the comparator countries; the differences in participation in strikes and demonstrations amount to as much as 19 percentage points. These patterns are generally consistent with the previous literature (Bernhagen and Marsh ; Bönisch and Scheider ; Fidrmuc and Gërxhani ; Hooghe and Quintelier ).…”

The Lesser Evil? Corruption Voting and the Importance of Clean Alternatives

“…We know much less about how corruption is related to other forms of political behavior. In a study of central and eastern European countries Hooghe and Quintelier (2014) find that corruption and low QoG is negatively associated with both institutionalized political behavior (like voting) and non-institutionalized political behavior (like protests and demonstrations). However, there exists no consensus with regard to the dynamics between QoG and these more unconventional forms of political behavior.…”

Economic Crisis and Levels of Political Participation in Europe (2002–2010): The Role of Resources and Grievances

“…Institutionalised forms of political participation are related to the electoral process and organized by the political system (Hooghe and Quintelier 2014). Non-institutionalised forms of political participation, on the other hand, represent potentially elite-challenging forms of political participation which are not organized by the political system.…”