The article also goes beyond the “sore loser” hypothesis and examines voters’ both political preferences and personal characteristics potentially responsible for the change in perception of electoral integrity over the electoral cycle.Īlthough quality of elections has been in the scholarly spotlight for years, citizens’ perception of electoral integrity has started getting systematic attention only recently. We specifically explore the socialization effect of elections in environments with notoriously low trust in political institutions and high electoral stakes. Building on the theory of the winner-loser gap, this article focuses on changes of perception of electoral integrity as a function of satisfaction with the electoral results in contexts where the quality of elections has always been at the centre of political conflict. Footnote 3 The shift of agenda has shed light on a broader group of countries where democratic performance has been affected by advancing hybridization and rise of authoritarianism, putting many voters at odds with the authorities and elections they organize. Footnote 2 Although most of the research concerning electoral integrity has focused on democratizing societies, where challenges of democratic transformation are most visible, recent difficulties in advanced democracies have highlighted the need for a more complex examination of electoral conduct and its acceptance by voters. Footnote 1 The change has happened together with rising awareness that electoral fairness and integrity is an integral part of a regime’s political legitimacy. Over the last 50 years elections have become an essential element in the process of consolidating power in various types of societies and political regimes. The article goes beyond the “sore loser” hypothesis and examines voters’ both political preferences and personal characteristics potentially responsible for the change in perception of electoral integrity over the course of electoral cycle. The article focuses on changes of perception of electoral integrity as a function of satisfaction with the electoral results in contexts where the quality of elections has always been at the centre of political conflict. How do voters in consolidating democracies see electoral integrity? How does election affect the change in perception of electoral integrity among these voters? What role does winning play in seeing an election as free and fair? Building on the theory of the winner-loser gap, we answer these questions using original two-wave panel surveys we conducted before and after three parliamentary elections in Southeast Europe in 20.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |