Underprivileged Voters and Electoral Exclusion in Contemporary Europe

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Frontmatter

2. Chapter 1. Introduction

   Dario Tuorto

   Abstract

   The initial chapter introduces the volume’s principal theme and explains its relevance to the ongoing debate in the literature, its topicality in public discussion, and the methodological implications of its study. By dealing with the question of the disparities in electoral participation and the dynamics of the deliberate exclusion of the more deprived sectors of society, we can gain an insight into the broader transformation of political parties, of politics in general and of the concept of representation in contemporary democracies.

3. Chapter 2. Voter Turnout and Imperfect Inclusivity: A Democratic Problem

   Dario Tuorto

   Abstract

   One of the key viewpoints from which to observe the question of electoral participation in western democracies is that of the historical, social and political conditions that have rendered voting an inclusive or exclusive experience. This chapter shall provide an overview of the changes during the twentieth century that led first of all to universal suffrage, then to the establishment of mass parties as the activators of mobilisation for a broad section of the population, and finally to the decline of those parties. The chapter concludes with an analysis of the dynamics of voter participation over the course of the last decade, during which the effects of globalisation and the economic crisis on the relationship between citizens and the institutional political sphere have emerged more clearly.

4. Chapter 3. Turnout and Socio-economic Inequality at the Individual Level

   Dario Tuorto

   Abstract

   This chapter develops a detailed analysis of the differences in turnout rates determined by the individual characteristics of voters, and in particular by their socio-economic conditions. After introducing the strands of literature and the methodological debate over the Resource Model, I shall be discussing the role played by income, social class and education in the political mobilisation of the electorate. Following the numerous empirical studies on disparities in turnout rates across different groups of the electorate, the analysis shows whether, and to what degree, the most disadvantaged groups actually participate less. The chapter also considers the transformation of the labour market and its implications with regard to turnout. Increased unemployment, greater job instability and the growth in the number and variety of atypical jobs, have together made employment status more fluid, and this has impacted the link that voters establish with politics and voting. In a situation of ongoing recession and economic crisis, a growing number of citizens experience a relative or absolute decline in their social status, and this has a significant impact on public and political life.

5. Chapter 4. The Institutional Determinants of Turnout Inequalities

   Dario Tuorto

   Abstract

   This chapter deals with the macro institutional and contextual factors that may encourage underprivileged groups to vote or discourage them from doing so. The focus in the present chapter is on those aspects that go beyond the individual resources or social status of those concerned. The institutional determinants of participation (or non-participation) embrace a vast array of factors, namely: voter registration processes, voting mechanisms, types of electoral and party system, elections, as well as the socio-economic characteristics of the nations concerned, the orientation of social policies, and the party mobilisation strategies employed. In this chapter I will show how these various dimensions impact, to a lesser or greater degree, the propensity of the electorate to go out and vote. In particular, I shall examine the affect they have on those individuals who are less well-equipped to participate in the political process, and who are thus more subject to forms of direct or indirect exclusion from voting.

6. Chapter 5. Voting in Times of Crisis: From Opting Out to Regaining a Voice

   Dario Tuorto

   Abstract

   This chapter examines the current debate on the political changes leading to the emergence of new “challenger parties” in many Western democracies. The interest in this field derives from the desire to place the question of participatory inequalities within a broader interpretative framework: this framework considers not only the institutional and individual determinants of turnout, but also the evolution of the party supply and the voting choice in years of economic crisis characterised by rising scepticism of the capacities of national governments. The chapter aims to ascertain whether the increasing presence of anti-establishment parties has curbed the decline in turnout, accentuated by the crisis, and if this is the case, whether it has done so by getting the most deprived social groups to vote once again, thus reducing the existing participatory gaps.

7. Chapter 6. Conclusion

   Dario Tuorto

   Abstract

   The final chapter of the book reflects upon the well-known democratic dilemma of how to make elections more inclusive. This argument appears particularly crucial in the current years when multiple processes have deprived the traditional political institutions of their functions, reducing their ability to provide solutions to social and economic problems. In the following pages I reconsider the model developed by Verba and colleagues to explain the absence of political participation, underlining how the three reasons (“I can’t”, “I don’t want” and “No one asked me”) are closely intertwined among the low-income voters, and that the electoral exclusion of the undeprivileged voters is difficult to contrast even when the shortcut of populist vote seems to prevail as solution.

8. Backmatter