Political knowledge and perceptions of minority governments in Europe
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11891760 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jens Wäckerle (0000-0002-5108-7711, University of Cologne), Sven-Oliver Proksch (0000-0002-6130-6498, University of Cologne) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Pages | 1-13 |
| Publication date | 2025-10-15 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | European Journal of Political Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0304-4130 • E-ISSN: 1475-6765 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s147567652510025x |
| OpenAlex | W4415213797 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 29 |
Minority governments are common across parliamentary systems, and a large body of literature has examined their stability and performance. Meanwhile, we know very little about how voters perceive this government type and whether they understand its political implications. We survey voters in Denmark, Germany, and Sweden, three European countries with varying degrees of exposure to minority governments, about their knowledge and perceptions of minority governments. We find that voters have knowledge levels comparable to those about the role of political parties, and that this is independent of the respective prevalence of minority governments in each country. Informed voters express stronger preferences for majority governments. However, minority governments are associated with specific positive representational traits, specifically with the impression that such governments listen more to the demands of all voters, and general perceptions are stronger for knowledgeable voters. The findings have implications for how elites can formulate arguments in favour or against minority governments that may resonate with voters
Electoral Systems and Political Participation · European Union Policy and Governance · Populism, Right-Wing Movements
The Gender Gap in Political Knowledge
Minority government and majority rule
Context and Political Knowledge
The formalisation of minority governments
Rules, institutions and the economic vote
Stability of minority governments and the role of support agreements
A Theory of Minority and Majority Governments
Asked and Answered
Minority governments and legislative reliability
What citizens think about minority governments in majority coalition settings
Why do Publics Support Minority Governments? Three Tests
Minority Governments and Pledge Fulfilment
Clarity of responsibility
Electoral promises and minority governments
A Cross-National Analysis of Economic Voting
Making a difference? Public perceptions of coalition, single-party, and minority governments
Coalition government and electoral accountability
Performance voting and knowledge of cabinet composition
Attributing Policy Influence under Coalition Governance
The Question(s) of Political Knowledge
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |