European integration, economic globalization and voting behaviour : how Do Voters Respond to (Economic) Authority Transfers? ; Intégration européenne, globalisation économique et comportement électoral : comment les électeurs répondent-ils aux transferts d'autorité (économique)?

Abstract

National governments' (economic) margins of maneuver have largely decreased because of intensified pressures coming from international markets and European integration. In this PhD dissertation, I examine how these (economic) transfers of authority affect voting behaviour. To examine voting behavior in national and European elections, I rely on multiple data sources : I test multiple hypotheses linking authority transfers with voting behaviour in a first large comparative perspective using (mainly) individual perceptions which is lacking in the literature. In the first part, I analyze whether economic authority transfers affect different features of the vote, i.e. performance voting, issue voting, electoral turnout and mainstream parties' fortunes. Results indicate that citizens who believe that their national government has little economic margins of maneuver tend to abstain slightly more ; judge parties and incumbents less (conversely, more) on economic (conversely, non-economic) issues ; and favour challenger parties. In the second part, I show that the increase of power of the EU does not affect voting behavior drastically. Citizens who believe that the EU is responsible over the economy do not choose parties more on their stances on the EU issue in domestic elections and are not more prone to hold incumbent European representatives accountable. Yet, individuals who believe the EU to be economically responsible hold incumbents less accountable on their economic records in domestic elections after the sovereign debt crisis, but not before. Chapter 7 finally indicates that citizens appear to hold the European accountable for policies in which it has actual responsibilities however. ; Les marges de manœuvre (économiques) des gouvernements nationaux ont largement diminué en raison des pressions provenant des marchés internationaux et de l'intégration européenne. Dans cette thèse de doctorat, j'examine comment les transferts (économiques) d'autorité affectent le comportement électoral. Pour examiner le ...