Citizens, Context, and Choice How Context Shapes Citizens' Electoral Choices [Hardcover]

A large body of electoral studies and political party research argues that the institutional context defines incentives that shape citizen participation and voting choice. With the unique resources of the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems, this book provides the first systematic evaluation of this topic. A distinguished international team of electoral scholars finds that the institutional context has only a modest impact on citizen political choices compared to individual level factors. Furthermore, the formal institutional characteristics of electoral systems that have been most emphasized by electoral studies researchers have less impact than characteristics of the party system that are separate from formal institutions. Advanced multi-level analyses demonstrate that contextual effects are more often indirect and interactive, and thus their effects are typically not apparent in single nation election studies. The results have the potential to reshape our understanding of how the institutional framework and context of election matters, and the limits of institutional design in shaping citizen electoral behavior.

Part One: Introduction
1. Citizens, Context, and Choice,Russell J. Dalton and Christopher J. Anderson
Part Two: Electoral Participation
2. Electoral Supply and Voter Turnout,Miki Caul Kittilson and Christopher J. Anderson
3. The Influence of Party and Electoral Systems on Campaign Engagement,Jeffrey A. Karp and Susan A. Banducci
Part Three: Electoral Choice
4. The Role of Party Policy Positions in the Operation of Democracy,Robin Best and Michael D. McDonald
5. Left-Right Orientations, Context, and Voting Choices,Russell J. Dalton
6. Follow the Party or Follow the Leader? Candidate Evaluations, Party Evaluations and Macropolitical Context,Yuliya V. Tverdova
7. Context, Political Information, and Performance Voting,