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Mainstream voters, non-voters and populist voters: what sets them apart?
[journal article]
Abstract Three different constituencies are becoming increasingly common across Western European electorates: mainstream voters, non-voters and populist voters. Despite their distinct behaviours in electoral politics, we have limited empirical knowledge about the characteristics that distinguish these three ... view more
Three different constituencies are becoming increasingly common across Western European electorates: mainstream voters, non-voters and populist voters. Despite their distinct behaviours in electoral politics, we have limited empirical knowledge about the characteristics that distinguish these three groups, given the typical underrepresentation of non-voters in surveys and the relative recency of large-scale research on populist voters. To address this gap, we analyse novel survey data from contemporary Germany that oversamples non-voters and includes a sizeable share of both populist radical left and populist radical right party supporters. Two main findings with broader implications stand out. First, populist voters resemble their mainstream counterparts in their expectations about democracy but correspond more closely to non-voters regarding (dis-)satisfaction with democracy. Second, non-voters and populist voters seem to reject mainstream democratic politics in distinct ways, throwing doubt on the (further) mobilization potential of abstainers for populist projects.... view less
Keywords
voting behavior; nonvoter; populism; political attitude; conception of democracy; voter turnout; Federal Republic of Germany
Classification
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Free Keywords
deprivation; non-voting; partisanship
Document language
English
Publication Year
2021
Page/Pages
p. 1-56
Journal
Political Studies (2021) OnlineFirst Articles
Handle
http://hdl.handle.net/10419/243346
ISSN
1467-9248
Status
Postprint; peer reviewed
Licence
Deposit Licence - No Redistribution, No Modifications