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Spatial analogies are ubiquitous as a concept structuring political conversation. Assuming that political parties play an important role in shaping the make-up of the political space and that depending on their combination of issue emphases they give rise to more or fewer dimensions of political competition, this article tests whether party system dimensionality leads to a trade-off implied in the relevant literature: when parties constrict the political space too much, certain preferences may not be represented anymore, leaving citizens dissatisfied with the system. At the same time, multidimensional political spaces may become too difficult to navigate and leave citizens confused. Results from hierarchical regression models (based on European Social Survey and manifesto data), however, show that such a trade-off does not exist. Higher dimensionality does not confuse voters. At the same time, there is evidence that it increases satisfaction with the political system, albeit only for the most sophisticated citizens.

AbstractAre personal stories more effective in shaping opinion than experts' endorsements? This study investigates the persuasiveness of personal stories and expert endorsements in shaping public opinion on education spending and pollution reduction policies. Using a survey experiment in Spain, we found that personal stories consistently increased support for both policies, with a particularly strong effect on citizens with populist attitudes or voters of populist parties. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the success of populist parties and the influence of personal stories on public opinion.