Political Behavior Research Articles

The role of youth extracurricular activities and political intentions in later political participation and civic engagement

AbstractIntroductionCurrent literature recognizes that various socialization agents often shape political behavior. This study employs frameworks of political socialization and political agency to explore how extracurricular activities and political intentions established at age 16 influence aspects of political participation and civic engagement at age 20.MethodsA 4‐year longitudinal study was conducted using a community‐based sample of 933 adolescents from a medium‐sized Swedish city with a population of approximately 135,000. Data were collected in 2010 and 2014, allowing for an analysis of the impact of extracurricular activities and political intentions developed during adolescence on later political and civic behaviors. The analytical sample comprised 933 individuals (50.8% females; mean age = 16.62, SD = 0.71).ResultsThe analysis revealed that participation in extracurricular activities at age 16 is a significant predictor of offline political participation at age 20. However, no significant associations were found between these activities and other forms of participation, such as illegal behaviors or broader civic engagement. Political intentions at age 16 also significantly predicted offline political participation at age 20.ConclusionsThe findings highlight the pivotal roles of both socialization agents and individual factors related to youth political agency in shaping political trajectories during adolescence. Understanding the effects of extracurricular activities and political intentions on political participation and civic engagement can aid policymakers and educators in developing strategies to foster active citizenship among young people.

Unpacking the association between social media use and support for unlawful behaviors in protests: a study in Hong Kong

PurposeExisting research has shown the role of social media in facilitating general protest participation. However, there is a noticeable gap in understanding the dynamics related to explicitly unlawful behaviors during protests, which have become increasingly prominent in recent times. Drawing upon the communication mediation model (O-S-O-R model), this study proposes a moderated mediation model to delineate specific mechanisms under which social media use influences individuals' support for unlawful behaviors in protests.Design/methodology/approachA survey of 1,121 Hong Kong residents was conducted in the context of the 2019 Hong Kong Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement to test the theoretical model.FindingsObtaining political information on social media has a dual effect on support for unlawful behaviors in protests. On one hand, social media use increases individuals' political knowledge, which is reinforced by frequent political discussions on social media. This enhanced political knowledge tends to reduce the likelihood of supporting unlawful behaviors in protests. On the other hand, acquiring political information on social media can also generate increased anger toward politics, potentially leading to a more supportive attitude toward unlawful behaviors in protests.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the expanding field of research on digital activism by revealing the intricate mechanisms by which social media usage shapes support for unlawful behaviors in protests. It also expands our understanding of explicit unlawful behaviors within protests as a distinct form of political behavior.

Scrolling headlines and clicking stories: content differences and implications associated with increased scrollability of news

ABSTRACT Technological affordances have changed how people consume news; more people report scrolling headlines than actually reading stories. Despite the commonality of headline scrolling, we know relatively little about how headlines differ from full stories, and the consequences of these unique information environments for public opinion and political behavior. In this study, we use a replica newsfeed to track the stories participants scroll by and click on (N = 1,051), and complement this with a content analysis of the headlines and stories. Our findings show that headlines are more negative in tone when compared to stories and that people are more likely to click on negative headlines. Despite the contrast in information environments, with the exception of affective polarization, we find little difference between those who are more likely to scroll headlines and those who click on stories across a variety of political behaviors.

How Civil Resistance Improves Inclusive Democracy

When do political transitions lead to greater inclusion for groups historically excluded from power? Scholars and policymakers often assume the answer is simple: a transition will result in more inclusion when it ends in democracy. Yet this answer is incomplete at best, since many democracies systematically exclude women, particular ethnic groups, or lower economic classes from power. Using data on political transitions around the world from 1945 to 2014, this study shows that a political transition’s initiating force critically shapes post-transition political inclusion. When transitions are initiated through unarmed civil resistance campaigns they achieve greater advances in inclusion relative to other types of transition. We propose three mechanisms to explain this effect: civil resistance leads to greater continued mobilization and civic activism among the historically excluded, provides greater opportunities for elites from historically excluded groups to rise to positions of leadership in new regimes, and forges more pluralistic norms of political behavior.

How attitudes towards independence reshaped Scottish elections: A longitudinal analysis (1999–2021)

AbstractBritish and Scottish politics are undergoing a period of tumultuous change, leading to what some scholars have labelled ‘electoral shocks’, which have altered the relative importance of the main issues explaining citizens' political behaviour. The conventional wisdom now posits that attitudes towards Scottish independence play an increasing role in structuring citizens' vote choice in Scotland. However, a longitudinal assessment of this claim is lacking. In this research, we seek to fill this gap by making use of data from 1999 to 2021, which covers every Scottish election since devolution, and providing the first‐ever systematic assessment of the strength of attitudes towards Scottish independence in explaining electoral behaviour over time. Our findings reveal a substantial increase in the importance of attitudes towards independence, which we can quantify throughout the 1999–2021 period. We conclude by discussing the implications of this for British and Scottish politics.

The Dimensions of Political Speech – Conceptualising the Origins of Political Hostility

This paper introduces a novel theoretical framework to analyse the increasing polarisation and hostility within US politics. The framework categorises political speech into three interrelated dimensions: locutionary, perlocutionary and illocutionary. By conducting an analytical review of the literature on political behaviour and polarisation and conceptualising the debate within this framework, the paper concludes that the increasing hostility is predominantly influenced by transformations within the illocutionary dimension rather than by changes occurring within the locutionary one.

The Implementation of the Spirit of National Defense and Students Caring Attitude Through Extracurricular Scouting Activities

The objectives of this research include: 1) To find out the general description of the implementation of the spirit of state defense of students at SMK Negeri 1 Pangkep. 2) To find out the general description of the caring attitude of students at SMK Negeri 1 Pangkep. 3) To find out and analyze the implementation of the spirit of state defense and the caring attitude of students through extracurricular scouting activities at SMK Negeri 1 Pangkep. The type of research chosen is qualitative narrative using the case study method. This research was conducted at SMK Negeri 1 Pangkep, South Sulawesi Province. in the third week of May 2024 to the fourth week of July 2024. Data collection techniques in this study through observation, interviews and documentation. The results showed that the implementation of the spirit of state defense with its indicators was well implemented, namely (1) love of the homeland, (2) Awareness of the Nation and State, (3) Belief in the State Ideology Pancasila, (4) Willing to Sacrifice for the Nation and State, not yet optimal (5) Have the Ability to Defend the Country. Then the implementation of the social care attitude of students at SMK Negeri 1 Pangkep is included in the category that has been well implemented through indicators: (1) honesty, (2) compassion, (3) humility, (4) friendliness, (5) kindness, and (6) always helping others. And in general, the relationship between the spirit of state defense, caring attitudes and extracurricular activities of students at SMKN 1 Pangkep through indicators, namely (1) discipline, (2) independence is still not optimal, (3) having noble character and noble character, (4) having the spirit of Pancasila, being loyal and obedient to the Republic of Indonesia, still needs to be improved (5) attitude of togetherness, (6) paying attention to common interests, (7) polite behavior, (8) respect for others, (9) cooperation attitude, and (10) sense of belonging.

Do Government Benefits Affect Officeholders’ Electoral Fortunes? Evidence from State Earned Income Tax Credits

When do public policies influence citizens’ political attitudes and behavior, and among whom? We study this question using one of the largest social provision programs in the United States: the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). We exploit the staggered roll-out of state-level EITC programs to estimate the causal effect of the program on elections, voter behavior, and attitudes about the government. Contrary to predictions from the policy feedback literature, we show that the credit leads to higher vote shares and approval ratings for the implementing governor. These effects are temporally limited to the first years of the credit’s availability and dissipate over time. Taken together, our results offer new insights about the conditions under which particularistic economic policies affect political outcomes.

Comparative Historical Analysis in Political Theory

AbstractTwo important methodological debates in political theory concern (i) the place of historical research and interpretation in normative inquiry; and (ii) the importance of comparing different cultural traditions of political thought. The first question animates a long-standing controversy over the relative importance of ‘history of political thought’ versus ‘philosophy’ in political theory, while the second has been central to the recent growth of ‘comparative political theory’. Despite both debates being concerned, in fundamental ways, with history and comparison, they have remained surprisingly disconnected from broader debates in the humanities and social sciences about the use of comparative history and, in particular, of the prominent methodological approach in political science known as ‘comparative historical analysis’. This may reflect the fact that the debates over history of political thought and comparative political theory have fundamentally revolved around thought—history as the history of thought and comparison as the comparison of thought—whereas comparative historical analysis is more centrally focused on the study of political behaviour. In this paper I suggest that this neglect of comparative historical analysis in political theory represents a missed opportunity. Like other forms of social scientific inquiry, comparative historical analysis can yield important empirical knowledge for political theorists. But I wish to more ambitiously suggest that comparative historical analysis can also be adapted for conducting normative political theory itself. I summarise the key features of comparative historical analysis for political theorists, and explain how its use of historical cases can supplement both the use of imaginary thought experiments and the study of contemporary politics. I then delineate three specific ways in which comparative historical analysis might be used to support normative inquiry: deductive testing, inductive construction, and casuistic elaboration. All three, I argue, can help meet recent calls to bring the study of real political behaviour more centrally into political theory research.

The Curious Case of Black “Conservatives”: Assessing the Validity of the Liberal-Conservative Scale among Black Americans

Abstract Many Black Americans identify as conservative on surveys, despite their allegiance to the Democratic Party. Prominent theoretical accounts claim this mismatch results from identity-based considerations. I revisit this long-standing puzzle and offer an alternative explanation with broad implications for studying political attitudes and behavior across the social sciences. Leveraging data from the American National Election Studies, I demonstrate that the terms “liberal” and “conservative” are unfamiliar to many Black Americans, compromising the usefulness and validity of the liberal-conservative scale for Black respondents. Respondents unfamiliar with these terms misapply them and choose ideological labels that fail to align with their partisan preferences. Consequently, scholars and political actors make incorrect and imprecise inferences about the contours of Black politics. Findings also raise new concerns about the generalizability of claims that rely on ideological self-identification measures, including popular claims about mass polarization and partisan-ideological sorting among the American public. Critically, this work suggests a need for caution when using concepts that vary in their meaningfulness across social groups.

Local roots and rebellion: Constituency connections and legislative behaviour of British MPs, 2010–21

Abstract This study explores the relationship between the local roots of Westminster MPs and parliamentary party discipline, a central principle of the British system of responsible party government. While recently the local base of MPs has attracted increasing academic attention, only little effort has been put into investigating how this might influence the political behaviour of parliamentarians. In order to do so, this study utilizes a comprehensive database on the local base of British parliamentarians, which includes data on all Westminster MPs from 2010 to 2021, supplemented with information on parliamentary dissent. Contrary to theoretical assumptions and existing international studies, localness is shown to have no positive influence on MPs propensity for parliamentary rebellion. This suggests that the increasing recruitment of local candidates does not challenge the traditional functionality of the responsible party system of government, yet nor should localness be seen as a panacea for the perceived representational deficits of British democracy.

In the Shadow of the Ivory Tower: An Ethical Exploration of Citizen Assessments of American University Presidents’ Political Endorsements

Higher education leaders sometimes transgress norms of political involvement. Despite some norm-violating behaviors, legal consequences are sparse. Some argue that this is based on concerns over taxpayers impugning regulators’ motives as partisan. Public skepticism is warranted, especially as university officials engage in unlawful forms of political activism that can go unenforced. What explains citizens’ tolerance for norm-violating political activities within higher education institutions? Furthermore, what drives citizens to blame some leaders for engaging in legally precarious political behaviors while providing more latitude for others who act similarly? Drawing from research on citizen accountability as well as partisan cue-led attitudes, authors argue that tolerance for political involvement in higher education contexts is explained by an institutional leader’s partisanship and sectoral type, that is, private versus public institution. To test these claims, authors fielded a survey experiment drawing on a Lucid panel. Findings show evidence that a leader’s partisanship and the institution’s sectoral type influence individuals’ acceptance or rejection of a university president’s endorsement of a political candidate, dependent upon the respondent’s partisan characteristics. Findings also confirm the emerging politicization of higher educational spaces, highlighting the implications for understanding public perceptions of higher education leaders’ political involvement and the impact on the sector.

Using Illustrated Children’s Book to Strength Fracted / Cracks Identity of (the Israeli) Children

Illustrations in children's books serve as powerful aesthetic devices to address complex emotions and ideologies, particularly in war-torn regions. These visual narratives act as catalysts for moral, value-based, and political discussions, offering a wordless medium that invites diverse interpretations based on the observer's perspective. This approach creates an open dialogue where there are no absolute right or wrong answers. Children's literature, through its illustrations, becomes a significant agent of socialization. These books impart cultural values, ideological concepts, and political behavior patterns, functioning as tools for establishing culturally responsive pedagogy. The images discussed, while originating from Israeli children's books predating the 2023 conflict, possess a timeless and universal quality that transcends their immediate context. Illustrations in children's books can either complement or diverge from the accompanying text, offering varying degrees of precision or poetic license. They carry cultural connotations that encompass symbols, traditions, beliefs, behaviors, and values unique to a particular society, conveying information beyond the apparent narrative. The inherent power of illustration lies in its ability to communicate directly with young children, often without the need for adult mediation. In preschool literature, illustrations serve multiple functions: they parallel written words, demonstrate abstract concepts, provide concrete representations of characters and settings, emphasize or contradict textual elements, and expand the narrative through visual elements not present in the text. Moreover, illustrations possess a psychological-therapeutic function, contributing to indirect treatment techniques. Like all visual representations, they embody simplified messages and shape recognition, conveyed formally and tangibly, with each element having both conscious and unconscious effects on the Therapeutic visual qualities in illustrated books aim to capture emotional nuances, intensify expressions of feeling, and convey concepts that may be challenging to express verbally. This is achieved through original solutions such as symbolism and creative visual metaphors. In conclusion, illustrations in children's books, particularly those addressing complex themes like war and fear, offer a unique and powerful medium for fostering understanding, encouraging dialogue, and providing emotional support. Their ability to transcend linguistic and cultural barriers makes them invaluable tools in shaping young minds and addressing challenging societal issues.

College Student Political Participation in the Context of a Polarized Nation and an International Pandemic: Do Campus Civic Engagement Efforts Matter?

U.S. universities devote substantial resources to increasing student political engagement, especially voting; research identifies several factors affecting student political participation, including socialization theories (e.g. family, friends, school), distance from home (Niemi and Hanmer), and choice architecture (Thaler, Sunstein, and Balz). Other research suggests that increased party polarization leads to higher voter turnout (Abramowitz and Stone; Crepaz). Our study sought to understand student political behavior (voting and registration) and political polarization during fall 2020 in the context of a polarized nation and an international pandemic. Based on 326 surveys of undergraduates and in-depth follow-up interviews, where 85% of our student sample reported voting, results suggest support for several factors that contribute to voting: level of political information efficacy, participation in campus organizations and events, friends, and family. On measures of social distance (“polarization”), participants felt more distant from Trump and less distant from Biden, and participants who felt closer to Biden felt significantly more prepared to vote than participants who felt distant to Biden. Surprisingly, minority students were less likely to vote. A second analysis compared a subsample of student fraternity/sorority members (“Greek” members) from 2016 and those from 2020. The 2020 Greek members voted at higher rates and were more active on social media although voter registration rates did not differ. Results suggest that several factors contributed to student voting in our sample: parent/family encouragement, a cultivated campus voting culture, campus outreach efforts to first year students, and increased voting avenues during the pandemic.

The Mosque Nearby: Visible Minorities and Far-Right Support in France

How is support for right-wing populist parties affected by exposure to Muslim visibility? Using an original database on French mosques, this article analyzes the relationship between the presence of mosques and support for the Front National at the polling station level in the late 2000s. It finds that the propensity to vote for the Front National increases in polling stations up to intermediate distances from mosques and then decreases, suggesting a spatial mechanism known as the halo effect. The analysis also shows that larger mosques and those with minarets are associated with an accentuated halo effect, suggesting the importance of the salience of minority groups rather than their relative size in influencing political behavior.

EcolRxC: Ecological inference estimation of R × C tables using latent structure approaches

Abstract Ecological inference is a statistical technique used to infer individual behavior from aggregate data. A particularly relevant instance of ecological inference involves the estimation of the inner cells of a set of R × C related contingency tables when only their aggregate margins are known. This problem spans multiple disciplines, including quantitative history, epidemiology, political science, marketing, and sociology. This paper proposes new models for solving the problem using the latent structure theory, and presents the ecolRxC package, an R implementation of this methodology. This article exemplifies, explains, and statistically documents the new extensions and, using real inner cell election data, shows how the new models in ecolRxC lead to significantly more accurate solutions than ecol and VTR, two Stata routines suggested within this framework. ecolRxC also holds its own against ei.MD.bayes and nslphom, the two algorithms currently identified in the literature as the most accurate to solve this problem. ecolRxC records accuracies as good as those reported for ei.MD.bayes and nslphom. Besides, from a theoretical perspective, ecolRxC stands up for modeling a causal theory of political behavior to build its algorithm. This distinguishes it from other procedures proposed from different frameworks (such as ei.MD.bayes and nslphom) which model expected behaviors, instead of modeling how voters make choices based on their underlying preferences as ecolRxC does.

Does Local Area Social Mobility Affect Political Alienation?

While existing research has considered how individual-level social mobility experiences affect a person’s political outlook, less attention has been paid to how historic levels of social mobility in local areas influence political attitudes and political behaviour. We link individual-level data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study to small area estimates of social class mobility derived from the decennial census. We find that living in a low absolute social mobility area was associated with a higher probability of voting ‘Leave’ in the 2016 UK European Union membership referendum. However, we find no evidence that historical social mobility rates in the local area predict abstention in general elections or attitudinal indicators of political alienation. Given declining rates of upwards mobility, and increasing levels of downwards mobility, our results have important implications for understanding geographies of political discontent.

Pancasila sebagai Sistem Etika Politik dan Etika Pemerintahan di Indonesia

The study aims to examine Pancasila as an ethical system in politics and government in Indonesia. Pancasila, which consists of five principles, is not only the foundation of the state but also a moral guideline that directs political and governmental behavior. This study uses a qualitative type of library research with a descriptive approach, which is a type of research that focuses on a phenomenon with data obtained in the form of literature that is naturally described in the form of words or writing. The results of the study obtained are in the context of political ethics, Pancasila functions as a moral identity that guides citizens and the government to act in accordance with ethical principles that are fair, wise, and in accordance with the values ​​of humanity, unity, and people's sovereignty. The implementation of political ethics based on Pancasila ensures that political actions are not only focused on power, but also morally and socially responsible to society. In government, Pancasila is the main guideline that ensures that the government acts for the welfare of all Indonesian people, by respecting the values ​​of humanity, justice, and unity. Every decision and policy taken by a leader must reflect the values ​​contained in Pancasila, such as divinity, humanity, democracy, and social justice. Pancasila is not only the basis of the country's constitution, but also an ethical system that guides the government in carrying out its duties with integrity, morality, and commitment to the interests of the people and the state.

Pola Preferensi Politik Pemilih Pemula Di Kota Makassar

First-time voters are a fairly large segment of voters. This shows that First-Time voters are a large resource in politics in Indonesia. Indonesia as a democratic country certainly expects every element of society to be actively involved in every democratic process, including the first-time voter segment. First-time voters as an important segment then have quite good political awareness. Through this political awareness, a pattern of political preference formation will then be formed. First-time voters as a large political resource are of course highly expected to be able to participate, at least voting in elections. So far, existing research regarding First-time voters only places as mere objects. However, this research then examines in more depth the patterns of political preference formation that will influence the political behavior of first-time voters. This research is qualitative research with primary data obtained through in-depth interviews with high school students as research informants. Based on the research conducted, it appears that First-time voters in Makassar City have quite good political awareness, which is an implication of their better political knowledge. So, when making choices in an election, First-time voters have a tendency to make their own choices based on their political preferences. The pattern of forming political preferences of first-time voters is sociology, rationality and psychology. Keywords: Firs-time voters, Political Preferences, Political Awareness

Understanding Conflict Dynamics in Spanish Parliament: MPs’ Personality Traits and Attitudes Toward Conflict

This study addresses the gap in research on individual-level factors contributing to parliamentary conflict by developing a measure of members of parliaments’ (MPs) conflict attitudes and examining the role of personality traits. Utilizing a comprehensive framework and validated measures, we aim to provide insights into the factors influencing MPs’ propensity for conflict and resistance to consensus. Our findings reveal that personality traits related to Agreeableness and Machiavellianism are significant predictors of conflict attitudes. These results deepen our understanding of the micro-foundations of parliamentary conflict and inform strategies for promoting cooperation and constructive political behavior in legislatures.