In this study we analyse the social base of authoritarian and nationalist (AN) parties in the European Union grounded on a theory that articulates social and cultural dimensions. We aim to characterize and understand this electorate, and explain its increase, considering their social class, education, income, social orientations, human values, and attitudes towards immigrants, and looking upon the trajectory of inequalities. Data is from the European Social Survey and contextual national level information on economic and educational inequalities, and on social mobility. We find that AN parties voters are mostly industrial and agricultural workers, with very low educational resources and low income. They are characterized by the social orientation of heteronomy, a paradigmatic conformist disposition combining conformity with inequality and conformity with hetero-determination of one's social position, here defined by a low score of the human values of equality and creativity. Heteronomy helps to understand a wide range of AN cultural traits of this population such as their exclusionary attitude towards immigrants. And we verify that the expansion of this electorate follows increasing inequality, mainly in education, as well as downward mobility, and social exclusion. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
Portugal and the Russian Federation share some aspects of traditional culture and similar experiences in modern history, but they also exhibit significant differences that determine specific modes of civil society's development. Results of a comparative and diachronic analysis show that the major differences between the two countries reside in civil society's openness and composition. Organized civil society is not very distinct in relative size when comparing Portugal and the Russian Federation, but it is globally more autonomous, expressive, trusted and institutionalized in Portugal than in the Russian Federation and among the factors that contribute to this condition are an earlier and revolutionary transition to democracy, a larger middle class, a greater prevalence of the value of interdependence, and a regime that endorses bigger public social expenditure in Portugal, all this within the framework of the European Union that has a longer history of social demand and institutional incentives for civil society. Despite those unequal conditions, civil society faces similar current challenges in both countries, mainly with the outsourcing of the public provision of social services. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion
The analysis of individual satisfaction and citizens' quality of life is paramount by the interdependence with democracy consolidation that exists nowadays in Ecuador. A proposal to calculate a synthetic indicator of satisfaction of citizens on the subjective wellbeing (SWB) in Ecuador based on fuzzy logic method and the degree of similarity to ideal solutions is developed in the study. The information is obtained through the application of a structured survey based on the European Social Survey to the Ecuadorian society to a sample of 416 Ecuadorians. The analysis is based on eight different dimensions of individual satisfaction, namely: (1) Life; (2) Economy; (3) City Government; (4) Transparency; (5) Education; (6) Health System; (7) Roads; and (8) National Government. The results are discussed according to three segmentation variables: gender, age and marital status. The results show that men experience more individual satisfaction than women; generation Y is more satisfied than other age groups; and those who live with couples without being married are more satisfied than single and married citizens. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion
In Portugal, Spain and South Africa, there has been a noted anti-neoliberal resistance, marked by the significant participation of the older generation in protest movements. Changing demographics, the global financial crisis, unemployment, poverty, and the reliance of the family nucleus on the pensioner, coupled with neoliberal and austerity-based reductions to welfare programmes, pensions, health, and social care, has caused the "silver revolution". As a population group that is often considered to be less politically active and robust members of society, such resistance is a noteworthy moment in society that needs to be considered and responded to. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion
