When do social democratic parties unite over tough immigration policy?

Rathgeb, Philip; Wolkenstein, Fabio

doi:10.1080/01402382.2021.1975211

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Yet, the underlying micro-foundations of this argument have not been tested. Rather, other studies of social democratic policies around immigration and welfare chauvinism have emphasised the importance of coalition governments (Harris and Römer, 2022), the intersection of immigration and welfare regimes (Sainsbury, 2012) and centralised or decentralised party organisation (Rathgeb and Wolkenstein, 2022) as important contextual variables. In this paper, we track the argument that electoral class demand matters for welfare chauvinism and welfare inclusion, respectively, assessing both the individual-level behaviour of voters and the response of social democratic parties in power.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The micro-foundations of social democratic welfare chauvinism and inclusion: class demand and policy reforms in Western Europe, 1980−2018

Harris,

Enggist

2023

Eur. Pol. Sci. Rev.

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In Western European welfare states, research shows that support for welfare chauvinism, or the notion that welfare benefits for immigrants should be restricted, is highest among white, blue-collar working-class voters. On the other hand, higher-educated, middle-class voters are more likely to reject welfare chauvinism and support the inclusion of immigrants into the welfare state. For social democratic parties, this might pose an electoral dilemma between generous welfare states and open borders: They rely on both middle- and working-class constituencies and are ideologically tied both to a universal welfare state and the protection of (national) workers. To what extent does such an electoral dilemma between classes exist for social democratic parties? How do social democratic parties solve this dilemma when in government? In this paper, we postulate that a class divide around welfare chauvinism exists within the electorate for social democratic parties and that these parties’ policies in government reflect these divides: If the social democratic electorate has a high share of working-class voters, they should act more welfare chauvinist than if their electorate is mostly middle class. We test these hypotheses by combining survey and macro-level policy data in 14 Western European countries from 1980 to 2018. We find consistent evidence of the existence of a working-class/middle-class divide regarding welfare chauvinism, even within social democratic electorates. On the macro-level, we find partial evidence that social democratic parties in power respond to the class demands of their electorate: They are less welfare chauvinist when they have a higher proportion of middle-class voters, whereas their working-class vote share does not significantly condition their policies at all, contrary to assumptions in the literature. We therefore conclude that as social democratic parties become parties of the middle classes, the likelihood that they will retrench immigrant welfare rights reduces.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The micro-foundations of social democratic welfare chauvinism and inclusion: class demand and policy reforms in Western Europe, 1980−2018

Harris,

Enggist

2023

Eur. Pol. Sci. Rev.

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“…Furthermore, Rathgeb and Wolkenstein (2022) provide evidence that successful social democratic shifts to the right on immigration, are predicative on the maintenance of broad agreement within the party between the leadership and grassroots. Comparing the Austrian and Danish responses to the 2015 refugee crisis, they find that the institutional party structure influences the success of internal dissent on accommodation.…”

Section: Accommodation Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Who benefits from the social democratic march to the middle?

Polacko

2023

Eur. Pol. Sci. Rev.

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Social democratic parties have experienced considerable electoral decline recently, which has often been attributed to their rightward policy movement. This paper advances this literature by examining who benefits from this moderation strategy and who is abandoning the social democrats. It does so by analyzing aggregate-level election results and individual-level Comparative Study of Electoral Systems data, on a sample of 21 advanced democracies, over 327 elections, from 1965 to 2019. I find little support for the assertion that social democrats are defecting to one party. However, in agreement with the spatial theory of party competition, results reveal that the radical left increasingly and significantly benefit from social democratic economic rightward positions, which is magnified when combined with rightward sociocultural positions. This predominantly occurs because left-leaning voters migrate to the radical left. The findings provide notable ramifications for party strategy and contribute to explanations for the rise of challenger parties, at the expense of mainstream parties.

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How do intra-party dynamics impact the party elite’s immigration policy manoeuvres? The case of German Social Democrats

Orhan

2024

Acta Polit

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This article examines the Social Democratic Party of Germany’s (SPD) approach to immigration and the role of party activists in shaping its policies. The article delves into the party’s response to the 2015 refugee crisis and its aftermath, utilising the discourse taken by the party’s leading figures and interviews with party elites, exploring their perceptions of activists and their constraints on immigration policies. The findings reveal that the influence of party activists is beyond their official power within the organisational structure, and their nestedness within the party affects the party elite’s policy- and decision-making on immigration. Given the potential backlash from activists, the study underscores the party elites’ cautious approach to policy shifts and emphasises the significance of leadership skills, the party’s image and electoral motivations in navigating intra-party dynamics and policy-making. Ultimately, the research highlights the delicate balance SPD elites seek in addressing immigration issues within its party structure.

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When do social democratic parties unite over tough immigration policy?

Cited by 6 publications

References 37 publications

The micro-foundations of social democratic welfare chauvinism and inclusion: class demand and policy reforms in Western Europe, 1980−2018

The micro-foundations of social democratic welfare chauvinism and inclusion: class demand and policy reforms in Western Europe, 1980−2018

Who benefits from the social democratic march to the middle?

How do intra-party dynamics impact the party elite’s immigration policy manoeuvres? The case of German Social Democrats

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