Emotions and domestic vote choice

Author(s)
Sofia Vasilopoulou, Markus Wagner
Abstract

What is the emotional impact of extraordinary events and how do they shape subsequent electoral outcomes? We posit that voters’ emotional reactions to such events influence whether they are likely to re-think their prior vote choice. We focus on the Brexit referendum as a prominent example of such an event. The referendum outcome elicited different emotional responses among voters, and these challenged party loyalties. Using evidence from an online cross-sectional survey conducted in the UK in June 2017 shortly after the UK General Election, we show that anger is associated with defection among Remainers and enthusiasm is linked to vote-switching among Leavers. Fear, on the other hand, does not have an effect. Our article contributes to our understanding of how extraordinary events and emotional reactions lead to shifting partisan loyalties and electoral change.

Organisation(s)
Department of Government
External organisation(s)
University of York
Journal
Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties
Volume
32
Pages
635-654
No. of pages
20
ISSN
1745-7289
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/17457289.2020.1857388
Publication date
12-2020
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
506014 Comparative politics
Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Sociology and Political Science
Portal url
https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/publications/emotions-and-domestic-vote-choice(aafab4a1-2523-40f4-bc08-25fa909c20b0).html