Suchergebnisse

THE CONCEPT OF MONDECISION IS REDEFINED. THIS CONCEPTUALIZATION IS LINKED WITH A MODEL OF THE POLITICAL PROCESS IN WHICH NONDECISIONS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROCESS OF AGENDA BUILDING. A BROAD DEFINITION OF POLITICS LEADS TO A NUMBER RESEARCH QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE POLITICAL AGENDA. NONDECISIONS MAY BE SEEN AS A MANIFESTATION OF THE 'MOBILIZATION OF BIAS' PREVALENT IN A POLITICAL SYSTEM.

THIS ARTICLE EXAMINES THE 1989 EUROPEAN ELECTIONS IN THE NETHERLANDS, THE NATURE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF WHICH SHIFTED CONSIDERABLY DURING THE SPRING OF THAT YEAR. THE CONTEXT OF THE ELECTIONS, THE CAMPAIGN AND RESULTS ARE EXPLORED AS WELL AS THE TURNOUT, AND PARTY CHOICE IN EUROPEAN AND NATIONAL ELECTIONS, WHEN THE ELECTIONS WERE OVER, IT WAS EVIDENT THAT THE REVISED EXPECTATIONS OF MAY HAD NOT BEEN BORNE OUT, AND THAT THE ELECTION HAD BEEN EVEN MORE OF A NON-EVENT THAN HAD BEEN FORESEEN EARLIER IN THE SPRING.

AS FAR AS THE NETHERLANDS IS CONCERNED THE 1984 ELECTION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT MUST BE VIEWED PRIMARILY AS A NATIONAL POLITICS EVENT. THE CAMPAIGN WAS DOMINATED BY NATIONAL ISSUES AND CONCERNS, VOTERS' PREFERENCES DID NOT DIFFER NOTICEABLY FROM THOSE WITH RESPECTS TO THE NATIONAL PARLIAMENT, AND EVENT THE EXTREMELY LOW TURNOUT SCARCELY AFFECTED THE OUTCOME.

THE CONCEPT OF NONDECISIONS HAS BEEN CRITICIZED IN RECENT YEARS ON A NUMBER OF POINTS. SOME OF THESE EMANATED FROM MULTIPLE, THOUGH NOT TOTALLY, EQUIVALENT, DEFINITIONS, SOME FROM ASSUMPTIONS WHICH SEEM TO BE IMPLIED BY THE CONCEPT--SUCH AS THE ASSUMPTION OF A RULING ELITE, ETC. THE CONCEPT OF NONDECISION IS REDEFINED. THIS CONCEPTUALIZATION IS LINKED WITH A MODEL OF THE POLITICAL PROCESS IN WHICH NONDECISIONS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROCESS OF AGENDA-BUILDING. A BROAD DEFINITION OF POLITICS, INCLUDING VALUE ALLOCATION BY AUTHORITIES OTHER THAN GOVERNMENT, LEADS TO A NUMBER OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE POLITICAL AGENDA, WHICH HAVE BEEN LITTLE EXPLORED UP TO NOW. NONDECISIONS CAN BE CONSIDERED AS ONE OF MANY MANIFESTATIONS OF THE 'MOBILIZATION OF BIAS' PREVALENT IN A POLITICAL SYSTEM. TO AVOID THE FALLACY OF 'INPUTISM', NONDECISION RESEARCH HAS TO BE COMPLEMENTED WITH RESEARCH ABOUT NONIMPLEMENTATION, FEEDBACK TO WANT-GENERATION, FEEDBACK TO THE MOBILIZATION OF BIAS ITSELF, & THE DIRECT GENERATION OF AGENDA-ITEMS BY THE DECISION-MAKERS THEMSELVES. MODIFIED HA.

WITH FOUR SETS OF EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS NOW OVER, IT IS APPROPRIATE TO REVIEW THE PREVAILING INTERPRETATION OF SUCH ELECTIONS AS SECOND-ORDER NATIONAL ELECTIONS, A VIEW FIRST PUT FORWARD BY REIF AND SCHMITT IN 1980. WHILE THE SECOND-ORDER MODEL HAS YIELDED IMPORTANT INSIGHTS INTO THE WAY EUROPEAN ELECTIONS CAN BE UNDERSTOOD AS MANIFESTING NATIONAL POLITICAL PROCESSES, MORE RECENT RESEARCH HAS FRUITFULLY TURNED THE MODEL ON ITS HEAD, AND FOCUSED ON WHAT EUROPEAN ELECTIONS CAN TELL ABUT NATIONAL ELECTIONS AND THE NATURE OF THE VOTING ACT. INDEED, THE USE OF INDIVIDUAL-LEVEL SURVEY DATA TO STUDY ELECTIONS TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT HAS FOR THE FIRST TIME TRULY SHOWN THE IMPORTANCE OF INSTITUTIONAL AND POLITICAL CONTEXT IN CONDITIONING TURNOUT AND PARTY CHOICE. FINDINGS OF RECENT RESEARCH SUGGEST THAT THE SECOND-ORDER FEATURES OF EUROPEAN ELECTIONS SHOULD BE THOUGHT OF AS CONTEXTUAL VARIABLES THAT CAN AFFECT OTHER ELECTIONS AS WELL.

Results from the 1986 parliamentary elections in the Netherlands are examined to assess the impact on voting behavior of several major factors: pillarization, based on religion & SC; issues; candidate orientations; & ideology. The importance of religion & SC has declined since the 1950s, with religious voters supporting secular parties & secular voters also supporting religious parties, especially the Christian Democrats. Issues & economic ideology are strongly related to party choice; candidate orientations also have some influence. Each of these perspectives explains part of voter behavior; together they yield two discriminant functions, one correlated with Left-Right orientation, various political issues, & support for various candidates, the other with religiosity & abortion attitudes. Together, these discriminant functions correctly classify 52% of voters by party preferences. 20 Tables, 2 Figures. Modified HA