The new voter in Western Europe
Subtitle: France and beyond
By: edited by Bruno Cautrès and Anne Muxel
Edition: 1st ed.
Series: Europe in transition : the NYU European studies series
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2011
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 302
ISBN-13: 9780230107021
Subjects: Politics and government; Voting; Elections
Description: This book presents the main results of an electoral panel study which is both unique and innovative not only in French political research but also among Western European electoral studies. The survey was conducted among a sample of 1,846 French voters interviewed on four separate occasions (2007 Presidential and Legislative elections). Electoral trajectories can thus be observed revealing the main trends in electoral behaviour and voting patterns across the electorate. The analysis of such trajectories and patterns mobilizes not only the usual explanatory factors (demographics, political leanings and identifications) but also another set of political variables (issues, the campaign and the media, the candidates' image, how electoral decisions are made, hesitation in voting intentions). This study also provides interesting findings on electoral volatility, including abstention.