Conflict Mobilisation or Problem-Solving?
In the aftermath of disruptive electoral and political developments such as the Brexit referendum and the election of Donald Trump, six important European countries went to the polls between 2017 and 2018. This book presents the results of the Issue Competition Comparative Project (ICCP), which analysed these six elections through a focus on post-ideological issue competition, leveraging a fresh theoretical perspective and innovative data collection and analysis methods emerging from issue yield theory.
The contributors to this volume cast a new light on electoral developments that have affected Western Europe in recent years, pointing to the key distinction between problem-solvers (parties and leaders that leverage their technocratic competence, and present a consensual, win-win view of contemporary transformations) and conflict mobilizers (that instead invest on the mobilization of conflict emerging from these transformations), as well as to the ability of some actors to mobilize voters across traditional ideological boundaries. In this light, parties commonly identified as populist simply emerge distinctively as cross-ideological conflict mobilizers; but mainstream parties appear vital and competitive as well, when they properly identify and leverage their issue advantages. Thus, the fate of democracy in Western Europe does not appear doomed to a triumph of populist appeals, but rather openly depending on the ability of political parties to leverage issue opportunities that emerge from societal demands and needs.
The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of West European Politics.
Lorenzo De Sio is Full Professor of Political Science at LUISS University, Rome, Italy. He is the Director of the CISE (Italian Centre for Electoral Studies); and the principal investigator of the ICCP (Issue Competition Comparative Project). His current research interests focus on issue dynamics in voting behaviour and party competition.
Romain Lachat is Associate Professor of Political Behaviour at CEVIPOF, the Centre for Political Research, Sciences Po, Paris, France. His research focuses on the comparative analysis of electoral behaviour and on political representation. He is particularly interested in the impact of political institutions and party characteristics on individual-level behaviour.
West European Politics Series
Edited by
Klaus H. Goetz, University of Munich, Germany
Wolfgang C. Mller, University of Vienna, Austria
Dorte Sindbjerg Martinsen, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
West European Politics has established itself as the foremost journal for the comparative analysis of European political institutions, politics and public policy. Its comprehensive scope, which includes the European Union, makes it essential reading for both academics and political practitioners. The books in this series have originated from special issues published by West European Politics.
Recent titles in this series include:
National Interest Organizations in the EU Multilevel System
Edited by Rainer Eising, Daniel Rasch and Patrycja Rozbicka
Varieties of Populism in Europe in Times of Crises
Edited by Manuela Caiani and Paolo Graziano
Conflict Mobilisation or Problem-Solving?
Issue Competition in Western Europe
Edited by Lorenzo De Sio and Romain Lachat
Secrecy in European Politics
Edited by Berthold Rittberger and Klaus H. Goetz
Democratic Representation in Multi-level Systems
The Vices and Virtues of Regionalisation
Edited by Thomas Dubler, Jochen Mller and Christian Stecker
Collective Securitisation and Security Governance in the European Union
Edited by Sonia Lucarelli, James Sperling and Mark Webber
Bricks in the Wall
The Politics of Housing in Europe
Edited by Alison Johnston and Paulette Kurzer
For a complete list of titles in this series, please visit https://www.routledge.com/West-European-Politics/book-series/WEP
Conflict Mobilisation or Problem-Solving?
Issue Competition in Western Europe
Edited by
Lorenzo De Sio and Romain Lachat
First published 2021
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Chapter 5 2019 Simon T. Franzmann, Heiko Giebler and Thomas Poguntke. Originally published as Open Access.
Chapter 6 2019 Carolina Plescia, Sylvia Kritzinger and Patricia Oberluggauer. Originally published as Open Access.
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ISBN13: 978-0-367-71082-8 (hbk)
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Contents
Citation Information
Notes on Contributors
Lorenzo De Sio and Romain Lachat
1 Research design: from issues to goals
Roberto DAlimonte, Lorenzo De Sio and Mark N. Franklin
2 The 2017 Dutch general election: how small parties campaigned more strategically
Mathilde M. van Ditmars, Nicola Maggini and Joost van Spanje
3 Campaigning in an unprecedented election: issue competition in the French 2017 presidential election
Romain Lachat and Elie Michel
4 The United Kingdom 2017 election: polarisation in a split issue space
Cristian Vaccari, Kaat Smets and Oliver Heath
5 Its no longer the economy, stupid! Issue yield at the 2017 German federal election
Simon T. Franzmann, Heiko Giebler and Thomas Poguntke
6 Parties issue strategies on the drawing board: the 2017 Austrian case
Carolina Plescia, Sylvia Kritzinger and Patricia Oberluggauer
7 The 2018 Italian general election: party strategies in a changing political space
Vincenzo Emanuele, Nicola Maggini and Aldo Paparo
8 Ideology, problem-solving, and conflict mobilization
