ABSTRACT

The study of elections, voting behavior and public opinion are arguably among the most prominent and intensively researched sub-fields within Political Science. It is an evolving sub-field, both in terms of theoretical focus and in particular, technical developments and has made a considerable impact on popular understanding of the core components of liberal democracies in terms of electoral systems and outcomes, changes in public opinion and the aggregation of interests.

This handbook details the key developments and state of the art research across elections, voting behavior and the public opinion by providing both an advanced overview of each core area and engaging in debate about the relative merits of differing approaches in a comprehensive and accessible way. Bringing geographical scope and depth, with comparative chapters that draw on material from across the globe, it will be a key reference point both for advanced level students and researchers developing knowledge and producing new material in these sub-fields and beyond.

The Routledge Handbook of Elections, Voting Behavior and Public Opinion is an authoritative and key reference text for students, academics and researchers engaged in the study of electoral research, public opinion and voting behavior.

part 7I|48 pages

Theoretical approaches to the study of voter behavior

part 55II|66 pages

Turnout

chapter 5|12 pages

The big picture

Turnout at the macro-level

chapter 7|13 pages

Turnout and the calculus of voting

Recent advances and prospects for integration with theories of campaigns and elections

chapter 9|13 pages

The acquisition of voting habits

part 121III|84 pages

Determinants of vote choice

chapter 10|13 pages

Long-term factors

Class and religious cleavages

chapter 11|10 pages

Ideology and electoral choice

chapter 12|12 pages

Party identification

chapter 13|12 pages

Trends in partisanship

chapter 15|11 pages

Preferences, constraints, and choices

Tactical voting in mass elections

chapter 16|13 pages

Economic voting

part 205IV|136 pages

The role of context and campaigns

chapter 17|13 pages

Electoral systems

chapter 18|12 pages

Electoral integrity

chapter 21|11 pages

Voting behavior in referendums

chapter 24|12 pages

Campaign strategies, media, and voters

The fourth era of political communication

part 341V|102 pages

The nature of public opinion

chapter 29|14 pages

Political knowledge

Measurement, misinformation and turnout

chapter 30|11 pages

Is there a rational public?

chapter 31|10 pages

The geometry of party competition

Parties and voters in the issue space

chapter 32|12 pages

The thermostatic model

The public, policy and politics 1

chapter 33|13 pages

Regime support

chapter 34|14 pages

Generational replacement

Engine of electoral change

part 443VI|91 pages

Methodological challenges and new developments

chapter 37|12 pages

Horses for courses

Using internet surveys for researching public opinion and voting behavior

chapter 38|12 pages

The use of aggregate data in the study of voting behavior

Ecological inference, ecological fallacy and other applications

chapter 39|13 pages

Election forecasting 1