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Social Structure and Electoral Behavior in Comparative Perspective

The Decline of Social Cleavages in Western Europe Revisited

Bibliographic Data

ID7952074
AuthorsMartin Elff (0000-0001-9032-9739, University of Mannheim, corresponding author)
Year2007
Volume5
Issue02
Publication date2007-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePerspectives on Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1537-5927 • E-ISSN: 1541-0986
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1537592707070788
OpenAlexW2105013978
LanguageEN
Citations received93
References cited49

A new conventional wisdom characterizes the comparative study of electoral politics. Social cleavages, once a stabilizing factor of electoral behavior in Western Europe, are on the wane. Voting decisions have become individualized and old social cleavages have been superseded by new value-related cleavages. This article challenges that view as an exaggeration.Martin Elff is Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Sciences of the University of Mannheim, Germany ([email protected]). The author wishes to thank William Maloney, Anthony Mughan, Betty Haire Weyerer, Thomas Gschwend, Jan van Deth, Sigrid Roßteutscher, Simone Abendschön, Daniel Stegmüller, and especially Jennifer Hochschildt and three anonymous reviewers for helpful comments and suggestions on earlier drafts

Economics · Exaggeration · Perspective (graphical · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Psychoanalysis · Social science · Sociology · Value (mathematics · Voting · Western europe · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Populism, Right-Wing Movements · Psychology · Social Policy and Reform Studies

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Unique citing works93
Citations per year4,89
Citation span2007 - 2026 (20)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 93

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