Koncept lijevog i desnog u empirijskoj politickoj znanosti: Znacenje, razumijevanje, struktura, sadrzaj
In: Politička misao, Band 36, Heft 1, S. 153-168
The notions of "right" and "left" are a fundamental semantic pattern within which voters construct their political perceptions and attitudes. Their universal meaning lies in a simple spatial approach to politics as conflict; functionally, "right" and "left" are "shortcuts" for political communication. In the empirically oriented political science, the left- right scale has become a standard variable in public opinion polls. After the initial pessimistic interpretations, in the last twenty years or so, this scale has increasingly demonstrated its validity and reliability. The sources of the right-left identification may be manifold, and not solely ideological. Also, the right-left scheme has demonstrated a remarkable potential to - in time - encompass new political contents and thus create a need for new cross-national and longitudinal studies. Voters - and not scientists - are those who define what is left and what is right. (SOI : PM: S. 168)