CLASS CLEAVAGES IN PARTY PREFERENCES IN THE NEW DEMOCRACIES IN EASTERN EUROPE: A comparison with Western democracies

Abstract

Since 1989 the political systems in Eastern European societies have changed radically, from totalitarian regimes towards democratic regimes with free general elections and multi-party systems similar to early democracies. This paper examines whether in these new democracies the same class cleavages have become important as in longstanding Western democracies. The relation between social class, attitudes towards economic justice and voting behavior is investigated in five new democracies and compared with those in nine longstanding democracies. The data used are from various cross-nationally comparable and nationally representative surveys held in the 1990s (total N = 20,270). Results show that social class has clear effects on economic justice attitudes and voting behavior in Western democracies. In the post-communist societies, members of different social classes consistently differ in their attitudes towards income inequality and social security, but hardly differ in their voting behavior. Owing to the politically unstable situation in the emerging democracies in Eastern Europe, people in different classes are probably unable to translate their policy preferences into party preferences.