Many studies show that political participation at the individual level is fragmented, multidimensional and non-cumulative, but comparison of 22 nations in Europe shows that different kinds of social and political participation at the country level are cumulative, unidimensional. The result is a...

Seit ihrer Gründung ist die Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) Gegenstand einer lebhaften Debatte. In der Öffentlichkeit vor allem als „euroskeptisch“ verhandelt, sieht sich die Par- tei immer wieder dem Vorwurf ausgesetzt, auch gesellschafts- und integrationspolitisch konservative bis...

For the personal vote to be cast in a meaningful way it is a minimal condition that voters recognise candidates. However, from earlier studies we know that there is huge variation in the number of candidates recognised. Little to nothing is known about candidate recognition and its determinants....

Considering gender inequality in time as a resource for political participation and using Wave 5 of the European Social Survey data on 24 European countries, this study examines: (1) the relationship of both long working hours and unsociable work schedules to participation in national elections...

In contrast to national elections, both parties and voters are assumed to think that ‘less is at stake’ in European elections: Campaigns are less intense, turnout is lower, and citizens are more inclined to ‘vote with their hearts’. The latter should be reflected in differing rationales...

Modelle ökonomischen Wählens rekurrieren auf zwei Elemente: die Evaluation ökonomischer Verhältnisse und die Zuschreibung von Verantwortlichkeit. So wird eine demokratietheoretisch wichtige Kontrollfunktion ermöglicht; bei schlechter Lage und perzipierter Regierungsverantwortung wird eine...

Access to information is a hallmark of democracy, and democracy demands an informed citizenry. Knowledge of party positions is necessary for voters so that electoral choices reflect preferences, allowing voters to hold elected officials accountable for policy performance. Whereas most vote...

In political philosophy, economic theory and public discourse, there is a seemingly endless debate on what the essence of equality and freedom is and what relation between the two is essential to a good political order. Views range from the conviction that too much socio-economic equality...

Measures of democracy are in high demand. Scientific and public audiences use them to describe political realities and to substantiate causal claims about those realities. This introduction to the thematic issue reviews the history of democracy measurement since the 1950s. It identifies four...