Authors:
- Provides an innovative framework for understanding attitudes towards democracy and political institutions
- Presents the effects of contextual changes and citizens’ social and political characteristics
- Explores longitudinal and cross-countries differences in satisfaction with democracy and political trust in 31 European countries
Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in European Political Sociology (PSEPS)
Buy it now
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Other ways to access
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check for access.
Table of contents (9 chapters)
-
Front Matter
-
Conceptual Framework
-
Front Matter
-
-
Context-Level Explanations
-
Front Matter
-
-
Individual-Level Explanations
-
Front Matter
-
-
Back Matter
About this book
This book provides an innovative and in-depth analysis of how attitudes towards democracy and political institutions differ across 31 countries in Europe, and how these attitudes have fluctuated over time. After addressing conceptual and measurement issues about the evaluative dimension of political support, the authors develop a unique framework assessing the role of the institutional format, the quality of the political process, macro-economic conditions and inequality to explain trends and differences in political satisfaction and trust. The book further explores how education, employment and electoral status create gaps in political support. Citizens and Democracy in Europe will be of interest to students and scholars in comparative politics, political sociology and public opinion.
Keywords
- political support
- democracy
- trust in institutions
- satisfaction with democracy
- evaluating political support
- Comparative Study of Electoral Systems
- European Values Study
- European Social Survey
- Cultural theories
- cross-national differences
- legitimacy crisis
- institutional structure
- quality of government
- economic performance
- inequality
- comparative longitudinal survey data analysis
- micro-macro interaction
- education gap
- employment status gap
- individual heterogeneities
Reviews
“Based on a rigorous, exhaustive and detailed analysis of secondary data, the authors engage with and discuss the potential hypotheses to explain cross-national differences as well the evolution of satisfaction with democracy and political trust over time. They give great support to the evaluative components of political support (input and output), their increasing importance over time, and how these are conditioned by direct and interactive effects of contextual factors. In my opinion, this is a must-read for any expert on these topics.” (Mariano Torcal, Full Professor in Political Science, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain)
“This is an important book that provides in-depth knowledge about the foundations of political support in European democracies. Drawing on a large set of survey data, the authors skilfully and intelligibly demonstrate that the current state of European liberal democracies might be less bleak than public discourse often suggests. Readers interested in embarking on an empirically rich and methodologically sound journey across time and space will be guided with ease through the conceptual and empirical complexities that constitute political support. In a unique manner, the authors investigate the within and between-countries' impact of input and output institutions, individual characteristics of 'losing' or 'winning', and their interplay. Thanks to the authors' impressive efforts, readers might eventually better understand the underlying causes for the observable rise of populism and political disenchantment of parts of European societies. By the same token, policy-makers might be better equipped to grasp and act in accordance with the wide-ranging consequences not only of economic performance but of good government too.” (Sonja Zmerli, Professor of Political Science, Sciences Po Grenoble, France)
“Amidst resurgent claims of a democratic crisis in political support, this book stands out for not falling for the trappings of the crisis narrative but explaining the societal and institutional mechanisms that drive cross-national and longitudinal variation in political trust. The authors provide an encompassing overview of the literature, an innovative spin to old questions, as well as a richness in systematic empirical analyses of individual and contextual drivers of political trust. This book should appeal to both newcomers to and veterans in the field of political support. Martini and Quaranta are two of the most interesting and rigorous young scholars in the field of political support.” (Tom van der Meer, Professor of Political Science, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Authors and Affiliations
-
Department of Social, Political and Cognitive Sciences, Università di Siena, Siena, Italy
Sergio Martini
-
Department of Sociology and Social Research, Università di Trento, Trento, Italy
Mario Quaranta
About the authors
Sergio Martini is a post-doctoral fellow at the Centre for the Study of Political Change in the Department of Social, Political and Cognitive Sciences at the University of Siena, Italy.
Mario Quaranta is Assistant Professor of Political Science in the Department of Sociology and Social Research at the University of Trento, Italy.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Citizens and Democracy in Europe
Book Subtitle: Contexts, Changes and Political Support
Authors: Sergio Martini, Mario Quaranta
Series Title: Palgrave Studies in European Political Sociology
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21633-7
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Political Science and International Studies, Political Science and International Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2020
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-21632-0Published: 17 July 2019
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-21635-1Published: 14 August 2020
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-21633-7Published: 06 July 2019
Series ISSN: 2946-6016
Series E-ISSN: 2946-6024
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XIV, 242
Number of Illustrations: 28 b/w illustrations
Topics: European Politics, Political Sociology, Democracy, Comparative Politics, Political History