What Drives Elite-Challenging Behaviours?

Abstract

In this chapter we will evaluate the effect of post-materialist liberty aspiration, socio-economic resources, and organizational networks on elite-challenging behaviours, paying attention to economic prosperity and political opportunity structures. The data source is World Value Surveys (1981-2014). We expect that liberty aspiration and organizational networks effect elite-challenging behaviours more in prosperous countries and where there is high opportunity structures than in less prosperous and low opportunity structures. Data confirmed this expectation in that the most politically active citizens reside in countries with high prosperity and high opportunity structures. As well, among ex-communist countries, elite-challenging behaviours are most common where there is an open political structure. We also evaluated the relative strength of liberty aspiration, socio-economic resources, and organizational networks, opportunity structures, and prosperity. Evidence points to the importance of networks and political opportunities.