Abstract
How do citizens decide who to vote for in an election? Traditional answers focus on the role of political knowledge, party identification, and evaluations of the past performance of governments as explanatory variables. In this study we evaluate an alternative argument: the role of emotions. Using data from a survey carried out following the Chilean general elections of December 2017, this article investigates the association of emotions with the vote for Sebastián Piñera, and how emotions interact with other relevant factors that correlate with the vote. We conclude that in Chile, together with party identification and the evaluation of past governments, the emotions aroused by candidates are strongly associated with the voting decision.
Highlights
How do citizens decide who to vote for in an election? Traditional answers focus on the role of political knowledge, party identification, and evaluations of the past performance of governments as explanatory variables
What factors help to explain the vote for Piñera in the first and second rounds of the presidential election? As we noted earlier, the main theories of voting hold that citizens decide (a) according to their party identification and (b) according to their retrospective evaluation of the government or the economy
As in other consolidated democracies, Chilean voters declare a very low level of identification with parties and have little political knowledge, which leads to the conclusion that these two explanations on their own would be insufficient
Summary
How do citizens decide who to vote for in an election? Traditional answers focus on the role of political knowledge, party identification, and evaluations of the past performance of governments as explanatory variables. Without denying the existence of voters who base their decision on basic predispositions or on cognitive processes involving evaluation of the proposals and candidates (Brader and Marcus, 2013; Groenendyk, 2011; MacKuen et al, 2007), it contributes important elements to explain the processes of political decision-making. In this paper we study if and how, along with other traditional variables such as party identification, evaluation of the outgoing government and political knowledge, citizens rely on their emotions towards candidates in making the decision to vote. The country receives high marks in comparative studies on democratic development (The Economist, 2018; Freedom House, 2018) It is a presidential democracy, which allows the analysis to focus on a first-order election. Chile is an appropriate case for the analysis presented here
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
