The Effect of Parties on Voters’ Satisfaction with Democracy

• DOI: 10.17645/pag.v8i3.2916
• Publication Date: 2020-07-17T08:50:50Z
• Authors: Miroslav Nemčok
• Keywords: Closeness; Opposition (politics); Surprise; Survey data collection; Direct Democracy

Electoral ‘winners’ (i.e., voters casting a ballot for party included in the post-electoral government) are acknowledged to be more satisfied with democracy than supporters of opposition parties. However, little is known about influence parties and their specifics on boost satisfaction experienced by voters. To address this question, research utilizes 17 surveys from 12 countries European Social Survey rounds 1–8, which government replacement took place during survey period. This allows employ discontinuity design examine effect two attributes related parties—differences vote shares, voters’ feeling closeness party. The findings suggest that these factors have negligible only scant evidence found tends increase satisfaction. When attitudes before after compared, changes do not seem strike as surprise thus they cause any sudden lasting general electorates. Nevertheless, indicates novel contribution literature: losing needs some time fully develop until it results decrease level. Based findings, concludes when comes parties’ characteristics, primarily government/opposition status determines degree democracy.