Political Attitudes Research Articles

The angry voter? The role of emotions in voting for the radical left and right at the 2019 Belgian elections

This study examines the role of negative (anger, fear) and positive emotions in addition to political attitudes (political trust, populist attitudes, external political efficacy) as key determinants of voting behaviour. We rely on the RepResent voter survey conducted in 2019 in Belgium ( n = 3236) allowing us to assess the relationship between emotions, political attitudes, and the vote for radical right (VB, PP) and radical left parties (PTB-PVDA). Findings indicate that anger is significantly and positively related to voting for radical left and right parties, while controlling for key political attitudes and issue positions. Fear and positive emotions are not significantly more related to voting for radical parties than for other parties. The results suggest that anger should be more systematically integrated in electoral research. These findings call for further analysis on the causal mechanism linking emotions and voting behaviour, and the (in)direct effects of emotions on voting.

Grigory Zinoviev: the torments and tosses of the oppositionist (1927-1934)

The subject of the article is the political behavior of one of Stalin's greatest opponents, Grigory Yevseevich Zinoviev, in the period between his first expulsion from the party at the end of 1927 and his arrest on charges of Kirov's murder in December 1934. Zinoviev's letters, speeches and statements to the party leadership are analyzed, through which he tried to achieve the main goal of returning to the party and to political activity. It is established that Zinoviev has an internal struggle between public speaking and maintaining his own political attitudes. These "torments" and "tosses" caused distrust of Zinoviev from the party leaders and led the hero first to a psychological breakdown, and then to political death. The materialistic concept (in particular, historical determinism) is used as a tool. The method of psychohistory is also used to analyze the inner world of a politician and the motivation of his actions. An analysis of Zinoviev's activities as a vivid example of the political behavior of a communist oppositionist allows us to draw the following conclusions: 1) Zinoviev's behavior during the period under review was determined by his return to the party, preferably to a leadership job. The basis for achieving the goal was the recognition of the impossibility of further opposition struggle, which could lead to a split of the CPSU(b), as well as general agreement with the policy of collectivization and industrialization that had begun; 2) The content of Zinoviev's appeals to various governing bodies, including I. V. Stalin, changed according to the situation inside the party leadership. 3) The calculation was not just to return to the party and to the leadership, but to take part on Stalin's side in the fight against Bukharin. The party leadership saw this and used it for psychological breakdown. 4) It is incorrect to consider Zinoviev's political behavior as a classic "double-dealing". He did not conduct anti-party work and did not reject the foundations of the party line. But his behavior led at the end of 1932 to a psychological breakdown and a rejection of his own political self. Finally, Zinoviev's "torments" and "throwing" stopped at the end of 1934. He died as a politician. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the very formulation of the question, the introduction of unpublished Zinoviev documents into scientific circulation, consideration through one of the leaders of the party and the oppositionist of the mechanism of strengthening Stalin's personality.

Faith in Science: Religion and Climate Change Attitudes in the Middle East

Abstract The Middle East is facing many challenges because of climate change: extreme heat, recurring droughts, water salinization, and more. Yet little is known about how people in the region perceive the threat of climate change or about the factors associated with perceiving it as more or less of a threat. This study utilizes the Arab Barometer surveys and examines how religion influences climate change perceptions among 13,700 people across twelve countries. Contrary to arguments in the literature, Muslims tend to be less concerned about climate change compared to Christians. Yet all Middle Easterners with a strong sense of religiosity are more concerned about climate change relative to their counterparts. Political attitudes also matter. Religious Muslims who endorse Islamist government are less concerned than secular Muslims, suggesting a “culture war” on the issue. These findings show that religion exerts a nuanced and unexpected influence on how people evaluate the climate change crisis.

Attitudinal Legacies of Dictatorship

What are the longer-term consequences of premigratory experiences on the political attitudes of those who migrate out of extremely authoritarian regimes? In this paper, using data from an original survey of North Korean defectors in South Korea conducted in 2022, we examine whether attitudes on executive power, self-sacrifice for the sake of the national community (postmigration), state ownership, and the duty to participate politically, vary among North Korean defectors, and whether those attitudes are based on their individual experiences in North Korea. Although we find little evidence that defectors express a greater willingness to sacrifice for the nation, former members (especially male members) of the Workers’ Party of Korea are significantly more likely than nonparty members to express support for a strong unchecked leader. Some other indicators of elite status (such as higher education and organizational leadership) also suggest that defectors who were elites are more likely than defectors with less elite backgrounds to retain elements of the authoritarian socialization they experienced in North Korea.

Rural Decline and Spatial Voting Patterns

Abstract How does rural decline affect electoral politics? A well-known argument is that the growing geographical polarisation of populations between prospering major cities and declining hinterlands is emerging as a cleavage of electoral politics in developed countries. But prior work has focussed on specific outcomes of rural decline rather than examining whether the geographical distribution of political attitudes and behaviours within countries has become more uneven in the last decades. Using a measure of party nationalisation capturing spatial differences in electoral support across districts in OECD countries over the last 60 years, we find that a declining rural population increases differences in the geographical distribution of partisan support within countries. Nationalisation determines a party’s orientation toward distribution of public resources and support for region-specific interests.

Polarization and Rationality of Political Choices of the People of Padang City in the 2024 Presidential Election

The 2024 Presidential Election (Pilpres) in Indonesia, including in West Sumatra and the City of Padang, is a strategic battle, not only in the context of heading towards a Golden Indonesia in 2045 but taking place in a unique configuration and axis of political power and ideology and development ideology, namely between the political ideology of Islamism with Nationalism, and between the development ideology "Change" (01) and the axis of development ideology "Continue" (Jokowisme). Even in the electoral districts of West Sumatra province and Padang City where Jokowi lost badly in the 2014 presidential election with a score of 23.1% vs. 76.9% (Prabowo), and in the 2019 presidential election he lost again absolutely with a vote share of only 14.05% vs. 85.95% (Prabowo), in fact in the 2024 presidential election Pabowo (02) experienced defeat, and was won by the pair Anis-Amin (01) (28.18%), Prabowo-Gibran (02) (16.56%), and Ganjar-Mahfud (1.87%). This research uses a quantitative approach and survey methods, a population of 666,178 and a sample of 5362 spread across 2681 polling stations, with random sampling techniques and questionnaire instruments, and percentage and correlational data analysis techniques assisted by SPSS version 20, so in accordance with the objectives, the findings are that: 1). The political attitudes of rationality are less strong (55.4) and 15.3% are irrational, while those with strong rational potential are 70%, and the not strong rational category is 30%.

A Study on the Discourse Guidance of Major International Political Issues in the Returnee’s Overseas Teacher in Zhejiang Province

This research mainly investigates the level of discourse guidance among returnees overseas teachers in Zhejiang province. Moreover, the related aspects of political consciousness, political attitude, feedback, and discourse guidance are also investigated. 356 Chinese university returnees overseas teachers in Zhejiang province have been involved in this study. There is a medium level of political consciousness, a high level of attitude, a medium level of feedback, and a low level of discourse guidance. This study also explores the characteristics of discourse expression, reactions, and factors in discussing major international political issues among returnees overseas teachers. Some implications are also proposed.

Role of Social Media Influencers in Shaping Public Opinion and Consumer Behavior in Greece

Purpose: The aim of the study was to role of social media influencers in shaping public opinion and consumer behavior in Greece
 Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries.
 Findings: In Greece, social media influencers play a significant role in shaping public opinion and consumer behavior. They have the power to sway public perception, with their content often influencing political attitudes, lifestyle choices, and purchasing decisions. Greek social media influencers are particularly effective in the beauty, fashion, and travel sectors, where they can impact consumer choices and trends.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Social influence theory, two-step flow theory & selective exposure theory may be used to anchor future studies on role of social media influencers in shaping public opinion and consumer behavior in Greece. Brands and organizations in Greece should collaborate with local influencers who resonate with the target audience. Develop and implement a regulatory framework for influencer marketing in Greece. This framework should address issues such as transparency, disclosure, and truthfulness in influencer content.

Context, Contact, and Misinformation about Socially Marginalized Groups in the United States

Abstract How does context influence individuals’ misinformation about socially marginalized groups? Scholarship has long found that one’s geographical and social environment are important determinants for one’s political attitudes. But how these contexts shape individuals’ levels of misinformation about stigmatized groups remains an open and pressing question, especially given the swift rise of misinformation in recent years. Using three original surveys, we find that individuals who report more contact with a diverse group of individuals were significantly less likely to be misinformed. These findings are particularly pronounced among white Americans. Moreover, contrary to the popular belief that where one lives is a strong determinant of racial attitudes, we also find that partisan and racial context did not meaningfully shape misinformation. These findings shed light on the factors that helps us to understand the misinformation that exists about this sizable share of U.S. society.

Dynamics of the Russia-Ukraine Conflict: Analysis of Indonesia's Political Attitudes and International Legal Responses

This study analyzes the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and Indonesia's response to the conflict. In the context of this global conflict, constructivism theory reveals the important role of social norms in shaping foreign policy. Indonesia's foreign policy stance, which prioritizes the principles of freedom of activity and non-interference, is in the spotlight in dealing with this conflict. In addition, aspects of international law are also analyzed, highlighting Russia's violations of international legal norms. Indonesia's response reflects diplomacy and a neutral stance in an effort to stop the use of military force. This study identifies lessons that Indonesia can draw from this conflict to strengthen its role as an active player in maintaining international peace and security.

Equal in East and West? Regional anti-gender discourses and heterogeneity of the European Commission’s discursive protection of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans* and intersex rights

Recent research shows that lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans* and intersex (LGBTI) rights have become a core value of the European Union. Concurrently, hostility towards LGBTI rights is increasing across the European Union, including through anti-gender mobilisations, which reject ‘gender ideology’. This study employs sequential discourse analyses to discover: (1) the regional specificities in anti-gender discourse; and (2) whether the European Commission is discursively responsive to these differences. We find that the European Commission adapts its LGBTI discourse to actual and expected regional specificities, both in the issues discussed and in the frames employed. These conclusions are relevant because they show that European Union discourse on LGBTI rights is not homogeneous and may be strategically adapted to regional contexts, which has implications for the purported universal protection of LGBTI rights in the European Union. Additionally, these findings shed light on the important but neglected role that social mobilisations play in sensitising European Union actors to regional variation in political attitudes and values.

State Resident Handedness, Ideology, and Political Party Preference: U.S. Presidential Election Outcomes Over the Past 60 Years.

Pearson correlation, partial correlation, and multiple regression strategies determined the degree to which estimates of the level of left-handedness in each of the 48 contiguous American states related to citizen political ideology and to Democratic-Republican presidential popular vote over the past 60years. Higher state levels of left-handedness were associated significantly with liberal ideology in each of the presidential election years from 1964 to 2016. Comparable ideology data were not available for 2020. Higher state levels of left-handedness also were associated with a greater degree of Democratic candidate popular vote support in each of the presidential election years from 1964 to 2020 except for 1976. The mean size of these 28 significant Pearson correlations involving the two political criteria was .62 (SD = .12) with a range of .38-.80, indicating handedness alone could account for a mean of 40.1% (SD = 14.9) of the variance in the two political preference variables. Corresponding multiple regressions showed that when state-level Big Five personality, White population percent, urbanization, and income variables were given the opportunity to enter the equations, handedness still emerged with a significant regression coefficient in 26 of the 28 equations. The two exceptions occurred for 1968 with either political preference criterion. It is speculated that such relations are grounded in hypothesized but poorly understood genetic links between handedness, personality, and political beliefs and attitudes, and, that a foundational genetic predisposition to left-handedness in a population may have much greater impact on correlates than overt levels of left-handedness.

City Managers as Digital Transformation Leaders: Exploratory and Explanatory Notes

This article examines the internal sources for digital transformation at the local level. It attempts to comprehend a public manager’s individual role in the introduction of digital tools to lower levels of governance, traces the institutional and personal motivators that encourage city managers in framing digital transformation efforts, and identifies barriers that temper their efforts in practice. The empirical study based on forty-seven interviews with Russian city managers explores the peculiarities of digital transformation comprehension, the key barriers hampering digital transformation, and the detours that city managers use to implement digital tools. The study explores why and how, in a situation of limited resources, unclear political attitudes, and restricted opportunities, city managers act in the direction of implementing digital tools and digital government transformation. The flexible thematic analysis shows that digital transformation at the local management level has the potential for leadership, as city managers recognize and articulate the importance of digital tools in transforming the urban environment. Digital transformation is integral to the image of the city managers’ profession and their mission to serve the local community. However, the leadership potential of digital transformation is significantly hindered by institutional factors, predominantly regulatory deficiencies, lack of resources, and social mistrust.

We see symbols but not saviors: Women's representation and the political attitudes of working‐class women

AbstractHow does women's representation in politics affect working‐class women's attitudes toward political processes? Despite their increasing presence in the workforce, many women continue to concentrate in occupational sectors characterized by high economic vulnerability and low social status. This dynamic has important implications for the politics of representation. Previous studies suggest that women politicians positively affect women voters' political attitudes, but women's representation in politics is likely to have differing impacts on the political attitudes of working‐class and professional women. This study demonstrates that women's representation has a large class impact among women voters. In particular, using cross‐national data from 31 OECD countries as well as panel survey data from the British Election Study, we show that in countries with a higher degree of women's representation, there is more skepticism among women in low‐skill sectors toward voting and leadership than among those in white‐collar sectors. This is because there exist higher standards of accountability and relatability for women representatives among women voters. Given such high expectations, there is greater room for dissatisfaction among working‐class women than among their white‐collar counterparts when they constantly experience occupational segregation despite a high share of women in politics. In these settings, by contrast, women voters with high‐skill jobs are more likely to believe that voting and leadership matter, as they can better associate themselves with women political elites. Since men voters do not have strong expectations for relatability and accountability for public officeholders, the class impact of women's representation is weak among men. These findings have important implications for the symbolic representation of marginalized groups and democratic accountability.

‘Whose Place of Speech?’ Brazil’s Afro- and Queer-Centric YouTube Channels and the Decentralization of TV Globo’s Telenovela Discourse

For several decades, Brazil’s Grupo Globo, which controls radio, TV, and newspaper, served as the hegemonic voice controlling the audio, visual, and narrative dimensions of social phenomena that formed and informed social, political, and cultural attitudes among Brazilians. Of all their divisions, none has been more influential than the TV Globo network. Lately, with the popularization of free access to digital media, such as those offered by YouTube, TV Globo’s viewership has substantially declined. This paper discusses the concept of controlling images to analyze examples of TV Globo’s constructed visual image of the hypersexualized Afro-Brazilian female body in the network’s soap operas. It also analyzes cases of TV Globo’s constructed narrative over another subaltern Brazilian group: the LGBTQIA+ community. Recently, Afro-Brazilian and Queer-centric YouTube channels have attracted subscribers by emphasizing content centered on negritude, gender politics, and place of speech while deconstructing and de-normalizing Eurocentric and patriarchal controlling images. Against examples of TV Globo’s normative discourse of the past decades, the YouTube channels discussed in this paper represent alternative mediums for agency, visibility, and unbiased representations of gender and racial identities in Brazil.

Political Turmoil and Attitude Change Among the Diaspora. The Impact of the 2016 Attempted Military Coup on Homeland Orientation Among Recent Turkish Immigrants in the Netherlands

Abstract This study underscores the significance of home-country events in shaping connections between diaspora and their country of origin. Focusing on immigrants from Turkey who migrated to the Netherlands in 2012/2013, our panel-study sheds light on post-migration developments concerning interest in Turkish politics and sense of identification with Turkey. Leveraging the 2016 failed military coup as a natural experiment, we apply also rally effect theory. Our findings reveal that political interest increased in the aftermath of the coup attempt and stronger so among immigrants who supported the AK-party. Conversely, identification with Turkey declined, while remaining stable among migrants identifying as Turkish majority members. This research demonstrates the importance of examining responses to home-country events, elucidating on variations observed across subgroups.

Navigating Anxiety: International Politics, Identity Narratives, and Everyday Defense Mechanisms

AbstractHow do individuals navigate international politics and mitigate the anxieties it elicits in the everyday? Giddensian literature on ontological security suggests that (collective) internalized routines and narratives provide a sense of certainty and stability that enable individuals to “go on” with their daily lives. This article adopts a Kleinian psychoanalytical approach to show that when faced with anxiety about their internalized narratives being ruptured, individuals do not necessarily, as Giddens suggests, fall into “chaos.” Rather, they rely on psychodynamic defense mechanisms such as denial and idealization to protect their sense of self and, by extension, maintain a sense of ontological security. The article investigates everyday practices of how people cope with anxiety related to international politics. It focuses on the case of the European Union by analyzing the reactions to political cartoons of participants from eighteen focus groups conducted in Belgium, France, and Italy. The findings provide, in turn, a deeper understanding of individuals’ everyday defense mechanisms in response to threats to collective narratives of being and belonging. The article thereby advances our theoretical and empirical knowledge of how international politics can affect individuals’ everyday life and sense of self as well as shape political behavior and attitudes.

This is I, Hamlet the Dane: Hamlet and Kingship in Hamlet

Hamlet is Shakespeares most famous play. Scholars have engaged in extensive debates regarding the themes of revenge and procrastination in Hamlet. However, existing research falls short in fully exploring Hamlets thoughts on kingship and his relationship with power. Despite the extensive examination of Hamlets complex character, a more in-depth analysis from this perspective is warranted. This paper, therefore, aims to further explore the connection between Hamlet and political power from three key angles. Firstly, it examines Hamlets reflections on kingship as presented through the drama and his humanistic education. Secondly, it focuses on the political aspects of Hamlets self-generated philosophical musings about life. Lastly, it conducts a deep analysis of the father-son relationship. Through a collective analysis of these three aspects, this research seeks to unravel Hamlets thoughts on kingship and their influence. It reveals how Hamlet himself and significant figures in his life, such as his father and uncle, shape his political ideology and attitudes, as well as how Hamlets self-identity shapes his understanding of kingship issues.

Deep belief networks in understanding and predicting changes in students’ political attitudes

Abstract Leveraging data collection software, this study gathered and preprocessed text data reflecting students’ political attitudes across five dimensions: political cognition, ruling party cognition, positive political emotion, negative political emotion, and political behavioral tendency. The processed data were subsequently stored in Excel format. These dimensions of change in students’ political attitudes served as inputs for a deep belief network (DBN) model, with the changes in attitudes being the outputs. The model’s parameters were meticulously tuned to optimize its predictive capabilities, aimed at effectively constructing a prediction model for shifts in students’ political attitudes using the deep belief network. To refine the model’s parameters and minimize errors during inverse fine-tuning, the chimpanzee algorithm (ChOA) was employed. This novel approach, termed ChOA-DBN, facilitated the successful construction of the predictive model for students’ political attitude changes. The model’s efficacy was assessed using the collected data on students’ political attitudes. Notably, the DBN model optimized via the chimpanzee algorithm demonstrated robust predictive performance, particularly when processing sample points exhibiting significant changes in students’ political attitudes (ranging from 20 to 45). The model’s predictions predominantly fell within a ±15% error margin. This research not only showcases the accuracy of the ChOA-DBN model in predicting alterations in students’ political attitudes but also underscores its potential contribution to fostering the development of accurate political perspectives among students.

A study on the influence of network environment on college students’ ideological and political attitudes

Abstract The network environment is gradually formed and developed under the impetus of information technology, and it plays an important role in transmitting political concepts, forming political attitudes, and cultivating political identity. After exploring the dilemma of ideological and political education in the network environment, this paper uses polynomial least squares approximation to construct polynomial regressions to solve various nonlinear regression problems. Then, the network environment factors such as bad guidance, network technology, cultural penetration, and false information are taken as independent variables. College students’ ideological and political attitudes are taken as dependent variables to construct a multivariate nonlinear regression model, observe the polynomial regression parameters according to the principle of least-squares estimation, and take 489 college students of the University of R as the research subjects to explore the influence of network environment on college students’ ideological and political attitudes. The results show that the correlation coefficients of four factors, namely, poor guidance of network environment, network technology, cultural penetration, and false information, with students’ ideological and political attitudes range from 0.178 to 0.531, which is a significant positive correlation. Meanwhile, compared with political cognition and political emotion, network environment factors explain the strongest tendency of political behavior (54.9%), and different network environment factors have various degrees of influence on college students’ ideological and political attitudes. The study offers data to support the cultivation and strengthening of college students’ ideological and political attitudes.