Congruence in proportional representation systems: non-economic issue salience and coalition formation

Kemahlıoğlu, Özge and Dikici Bilgin, Hasret (2022) Congruence in proportional representation systems: non-economic issue salience and coalition formation. Swiss Political Science Review . ISSN 1424-7755 (Print) 1662-6370 (Online) Published Online First https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/spsr.12519

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Abstract

This article contributes to our understanding of democratic representation by analyzing government congruence – the gap between the positions of the government and the median voter – within proportional representation systems. Analyzing elections in non-post-communist, democratic OECD countries in the post-war period until 2014, we argue and show that the salience of non-economic issues such as national way of life and migration led to ideological incongruence indirectly through its effect on government formation by right-wing political parties. We suggest that in this period right-wing political parties that own and emphasize these issues found it easier to differentiate themselves from their ideological counterparts and join a coalition with them without being threatened by credit claiming conflicts. Since, everything else kept constant, right-wing coalitions were then more likely to emerge when such non-economic issues were salient in the party system, their probability to form when the median is located at the center was also higher, leading to higher levels of ideological incongruence overall.
Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Coalitions; Government congruence; Issue salience; National way of life; Proportional representation
Divisions: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences > Academic programs > International Studies
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences > Academic programs > Political Science
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Depositing User: Özge Kemahlıoğlu
Date Deposited: 22 Aug 2022 19:54
Last Modified: 22 Aug 2022 19:54
URI: https://research.sabanciuniv.edu/id/eprint/44140

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