2025/01/01 by Bjarn Eck, Emilien Paulis · 1 voice · 1 citation
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Electoral Systems and Political Participation #Law #Polarization (electrochemistry) #Political science #Populism, Right-Wing Movements #Psychology #Social Policy and Reform Studies #Social psychology #Status quo #Status quo bias
paper · pdf · doi:10.1017/s0007123425000365
published in British Journal of Political Science 55 (Cambridge University Press)
openalex publication_date 2025/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02
Abstract Voters of governing parties are more satisfied with democracy than opposition voters, but the consequences of this winner-loser gap remain underexplored. We argue that electoral losers should be more supportive of referendums than electoral winners as representative democracy has failed electoral losers, whereas electoral winners aim to protect their party’s ability to govern without constraint. In addition, we theorize that affective polarization should strengthen this gap. Using cross-national survey data from thirteen European democracies, we find that electoral losers consistently show greater support for referendums than winners, and affective polarization amplifies this effect. Yet, the effect of affective polarization is solely attributed to a decrease in support for referendums among polarized election winners. These findings raise questions about the role of affective polarization in undermining the accountability mechanism between electoral winners and their parties. Concerns about electoral losers might be overstated and potentially overlook the democratic implications of electoral victory.