Post-materialist values and political preference: Some unlikely findings from Northern Ireland

Abstract

Post-materialist values (PMVs) in Northern Ireland are less widespread than in most European countries. This is in accordance with Inglehart's argument that PMVs are less likely to arise among groups that have spent their formative years in physical and economic insecurity. However there has also been an increase in PMVs since the early 1970s which has continued steadily into the 1980s when the cohort which spent its formative years in the `Troubles' entered the voting population. To explore this phenomenon, this article examines the Eurobarometer data from 1982 to 1991. Voters for four political parties (two Nationalist and two Unionist) are compared. It was found that voters for the Nationalist parties were significantly more likely to be post materialists. It was also found that Sinn Feein, a militant Nationalist party, attracted the highest percentage of post-materialists. Two explanations are offered: (1) the post-materialist index is unsuitable for use in Northern Ireland, and (2) the value change was driven by forces other than the experience of physical and economic security.