TY - BOOK

T1 - The Danish voter

T2 - Democratic ideals and challenges

AU - Stubager, Rune

AU - Hansen, K. M.

AU - Lewis-Beck, Michael S.

AU - Nadeau, Richard

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by Rune Stubager, Kasper M. Hansen, Michael S. Lewis-Beck, and Richard Nadeau. All rights reserved.

PY - 2021/4/26

Y1 - 2021/4/26

N2 - To many international experts, politicians, and commentators, Denmark stands out as an ideal society with a well-functioning welfare state, low levels of corruption, and a high degree of social and political stability. Like other countries, however, Denmark faces challenges brought on by overall social changes. Particularly the challenges of maintaining a prosperous economy and the growing number of immigrants from different ethnic and religious backgrounds have left their mark on Danish society over the past 50 years. But how have Danish voters reacted to these challenges? In order to understand the foundation of the Danish ideal, the authors analyze voter behavior from the early 1970s until 2019. The Danish Voter investigates a series of interesting questions concerning voters' reactions to the two macrosocial challenges-and how these reactions impact the foundations for the ideal. The individual chapters consider how the challenges have weakened the traditional class cleavage while giving rise to new divisions based on gender and education. They also show how electoral polarization on economic redistribution has remained strong even in spite of depolarization in the parties' positions on this dimension. On cultural issues like immigration, however, the challenge of diversity has resulted in a dramatic increase in polarization among both parties and voters. By investigating the drivers of political trust, the authors show how voters respond to enacted policies. The Danish Voter holds important insights for readers interested in the politics of Western Europe where countries face similar challenges. Indeed, due to an electoral system open to new influences, the Danish case is an important test case for theories about political development of contemporary Western societies.

AB - To many international experts, politicians, and commentators, Denmark stands out as an ideal society with a well-functioning welfare state, low levels of corruption, and a high degree of social and political stability. Like other countries, however, Denmark faces challenges brought on by overall social changes. Particularly the challenges of maintaining a prosperous economy and the growing number of immigrants from different ethnic and religious backgrounds have left their mark on Danish society over the past 50 years. But how have Danish voters reacted to these challenges? In order to understand the foundation of the Danish ideal, the authors analyze voter behavior from the early 1970s until 2019. The Danish Voter investigates a series of interesting questions concerning voters' reactions to the two macrosocial challenges-and how these reactions impact the foundations for the ideal. The individual chapters consider how the challenges have weakened the traditional class cleavage while giving rise to new divisions based on gender and education. They also show how electoral polarization on economic redistribution has remained strong even in spite of depolarization in the parties' positions on this dimension. On cultural issues like immigration, however, the challenge of diversity has resulted in a dramatic increase in polarization among both parties and voters. By investigating the drivers of political trust, the authors show how voters respond to enacted policies. The Danish Voter holds important insights for readers interested in the politics of Western Europe where countries face similar challenges. Indeed, due to an electoral system open to new influences, the Danish case is an important test case for theories about political development of contemporary Western societies.

KW - Class voting

KW - Cultural dimension

KW - Danish ideal

KW - Denmark

KW - Economic dimension

KW - Economic voting

KW - Elections

KW - Issue voting

KW - Party choice

KW - Political cleavages

KW - Political trust

KW - Social position and party choice

KW - Voting behavior

KW - Welfare state

KW - Western Europe

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85082877494&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3998/mpub.10031711

DO - 10.3998/mpub.10031711

M3 - Book

AN - SCOPUS:85082877494

SN - 9780472128334

BT - The Danish voter

PB - University of Michigan Press

ER -