Intra-Party Dissent as a Constraint in Policy Competition
Mapping and Analysing the Positioning of Political Parties in the German Refugee Debate from August to November 2015
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6263011 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Pascal D König (0000-0001-9466-4024, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 337-359 |
| Publication date | 2017-07-03 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | German Politics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0964-4008 • E-ISSN: 1743-8993 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/09644008.2016.1260707 |
| OpenAlex | W2566415984 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 11 |
The large influx of refugees into Germany in late 2015 gave rise to a period of intensified party competition over a single issue: refugees. This paper examines German parties’ reactions to this issue suddenly becoming highly important and voter preferences shifting to a more restrictive stance. It does so by analysing the parties’ positions on the issue from August to November 2015 based on statements from more than 1000 quality newspaper articles. The analysis shows that there was no uniform shift in line with the change in public opinion but a pattern of polarisation. Moreover, converging party position changes sparked intra-party criticism that was in turn followed by divergence – a pattern observable for the Green Party as well as for the Christian Democrats. Altogether, these findings suggest that policy motives, which induce intra-party dissent, impede parties opportunistically trying to follow shifts in public opinion in the short term
Boycott · Competition (biology · Constraint (computer-aided design · Criticism · Dissent · Divergence (linguistics · German · Newspaper · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public opinion · Refugee · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · History · Law · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies · Populism, Right-Wing Movements · Public Administration
EU Asylum Governance and E(xc)lusive Solidarity
How do intra-party dynamics impact the party elite’s immigration policy manoeuvres? The case of German Social Democrats
Managing the grumbles
To adapt or to defend? Comparing position shifts among Bundestag candidates between 2013 and 2017
Many losers – One winner? An examination of vote switching to the AfD in the 2017 German federal election using VAA data
Party ideologies and UN debates
Disregarding the Voters? Electoral Competition and the Merkel Government’s Public Policies, 2013–17
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and Immigration Policies
ReconcilingIntra‐PartyandIntra‐CoalitionDissent in Morality Politics
Mode of candidacy, electoral prospects, and the ideological deviation of candidacy-seeking politicians from their party leadership
Do right-wing parties foster welfare chauvinistic attitudes? A longitudinal study of the 2015 'refugee crisis' in Germany
| Citations per year | 1.38 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2018 - 2026 (9) |
| Highly cited | No |