Mass politics in tough times: opinions, votes and protest in the Great Recession

This book reveals how ordinary people in rich democracies responded to the Great Recession. Through cross-national statistical work and detailed case comparison, it surveys how the economic crisis affected elections, public opinion and protest behaviour between 2008 and 2011. It shows that incumbents were generally punished harshly at the polls regardless of whether they were of the left or right, yet it also reveals that citizens reacted to the recession with surprising moderation in other realms of mass politics

This book reveals how ordinary people in rich democracies responded to the Great Recession. Through cross-national statistical work and detailed case comparison, it surveys how the economic crisis affected elections, public opinion and protest behaviour between 2008 and 2011. It shows that incumbents were generally punished harshly at the polls regardless of whether they were of the left or right, yet it also reveals that citizens reacted to the recession with surprising moderation in other realms of mass politics.

About the Contributors -- 1. Mass politics in tough times -- 2. Crisis of confidence? The dynamics of economic opinions during the Great Recession -- 3. Political understanding of economic crises: the shape of resentment toward public employees -- 4. Economic crisis and support for redistribution in the United Kingdom -- 5. Economic insecurity and public support for the Euro: before and during the financial crisis -- 6. Attitudes toward immigration in good times and bad -- 7. Ideology and retrospection in electoral responses to the Great Recession -- 8. Crisis perceptions and economic voting among the rich and the poor: the United Kingdom and Germany -- 9. The electoral impact of the crisis on the French working class: more to the right? -- 10. The political consequences of the economic crisis in Europe: electoral punishment and popular protest -- 11. An end to "patience"? The Great Recession and economic protest in Eastern Europe -- Index.