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Do political parties listen to the(ir) public? Public opinion-party linkage on specific policy issues
[journal article]
Abstract Political parties are a crucial link between the public and policy outcomes. However, few studies have considered who political parties are responsive to when they take positions on specific policy proposals. This article explores the links between public opinion and the policy positions of politica... view more
Political parties are a crucial link between the public and policy outcomes. However, few studies have considered who political parties are responsive to when they take positions on specific policy proposals. This article explores the links between public opinion and the policy positions of political parties on 102 specific policy proposals in Germany using a novel application of multilevel regression with poststratification to estimate the policy preferences of party supporters. While there is a link between general public preferences and the positions of political parties, this connection weakens considerably once political parties are in government. In fact, the study shows that the link between party positions and general public opinion is severed once parties enter government, whereas it is only weakened in the case of party supporters. Finally, the article finds mixed evidence for differences between niche parties and mainstream parties.... view less
Keywords
party; public opinion; Federal Republic of Germany; multi-level analysis; regression analysis; party supporter; government; party in power; preference; opposition; policy studies
Classification
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Free Keywords
congruence; MRP; political parties
Document language
English
Publication Year
2020
Page/Pages
p. 426-436
Journal
Party Politics, 26 (2020) 4
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/1354068818787346
ISSN
1460-3683
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed