Edward Goodger | University of Durham (original) (raw)
Papers by Edward Goodger
Contemporary politics, Mar 1, 2024
Political Studies Review
Defining ‘radical left’ political actors by their challenge to contemporary economic norms, this ... more Defining ‘radical left’ political actors by their challenge to contemporary economic norms, this article draws the example of Die Linke in Germany and analyses explanations for this party’s support. Two theories are tested. First, the policy-proximity account, building off the Downsian spatial model and tested with three policy dimensions relating to economics, cultural policy, and migration policy. Second, the populism-based account, which defines this as a conflict between ‘the people’ versus ‘elites’. Using German Longitudinal Election Survey data, this article carries out a large-N analysis of support for Die Linke. It uses multiple linear regression to test how far support for this party is explained by proximity between voters and the party, or by levels of populism among voters. Results showed greater support for Die Linke from proximal voters on each dimension; however, highly populist voters were not found to be more supportive of Die Linke. The article concludes in favour ...
Policy and Populism: Analysing Support for Die Linke, 2023
Defining ‘radical left’ political actors by their challenge to contemporary economic norms, this ... more Defining ‘radical left’ political actors by their challenge to contemporary economic norms, this article draws the example of Die Linke in Germany and analyses explanations for this party’s support. Two theories are tested. First, the policy-proximity account, building off the Downsian spatial model and tested with three policy dimensions relating to economics, cultural policy, and migration policy. Second, the populism-based account, which defines this as a conflict between ‘the people’ versus ‘elites’. Using German Longitudinal Election Survey data, this article carries out a large-N analysis of support for Die Linke. It uses multiple linear regression to test how far support for this party is explained by proximity between voters and the party, or by levels of populism among voters. Results showed greater support for Die Linke from proximal voters on each dimension; however, highly populist voters were not found to be more supportive of Die Linke. The article concludes in favour of a policy-proximity explanation but suggests the party’s well-established nature may have altered voters’ policy preferences, potentially leaving a reverse causal relationship and leaving in doubt the role of policy-proximity on radical left support.
Defined by stridently redistributionist economic policies that challenge mainstream economic norm... more Defined by stridently redistributionist economic policies that challenge mainstream economic norms in many Western democracies, radically left-wing political actors have risen to prominence in many such countries. Despite their newfound prominence, the radical left remains understudied relative to their radical right counterparts. In my voter-level analysis, I test two common explanations of radical left support. First, the ‘policy-proximity’ account, which suggests radical left support is the result of proximity between voters and these actors on policy dimensions. I examine this with three plausibly relevant policy dimensions: economics, cultural policy, and migration policy. Second, the ‘populism-based’ account, which suggests the radical left draws support from populist voters attracted by their challenge to established political parties. I test both these accounts in three case studies: Germany, the US, and the UK. I draw upon survey data which includes voters’ support for the ...
Contemporary politics, Mar 1, 2024
Political Studies Review
Defining ‘radical left’ political actors by their challenge to contemporary economic norms, this ... more Defining ‘radical left’ political actors by their challenge to contemporary economic norms, this article draws the example of Die Linke in Germany and analyses explanations for this party’s support. Two theories are tested. First, the policy-proximity account, building off the Downsian spatial model and tested with three policy dimensions relating to economics, cultural policy, and migration policy. Second, the populism-based account, which defines this as a conflict between ‘the people’ versus ‘elites’. Using German Longitudinal Election Survey data, this article carries out a large-N analysis of support for Die Linke. It uses multiple linear regression to test how far support for this party is explained by proximity between voters and the party, or by levels of populism among voters. Results showed greater support for Die Linke from proximal voters on each dimension; however, highly populist voters were not found to be more supportive of Die Linke. The article concludes in favour ...
Policy and Populism: Analysing Support for Die Linke, 2023
Defining ‘radical left’ political actors by their challenge to contemporary economic norms, this ... more Defining ‘radical left’ political actors by their challenge to contemporary economic norms, this article draws the example of Die Linke in Germany and analyses explanations for this party’s support. Two theories are tested. First, the policy-proximity account, building off the Downsian spatial model and tested with three policy dimensions relating to economics, cultural policy, and migration policy. Second, the populism-based account, which defines this as a conflict between ‘the people’ versus ‘elites’. Using German Longitudinal Election Survey data, this article carries out a large-N analysis of support for Die Linke. It uses multiple linear regression to test how far support for this party is explained by proximity between voters and the party, or by levels of populism among voters. Results showed greater support for Die Linke from proximal voters on each dimension; however, highly populist voters were not found to be more supportive of Die Linke. The article concludes in favour of a policy-proximity explanation but suggests the party’s well-established nature may have altered voters’ policy preferences, potentially leaving a reverse causal relationship and leaving in doubt the role of policy-proximity on radical left support.
Defined by stridently redistributionist economic policies that challenge mainstream economic norm... more Defined by stridently redistributionist economic policies that challenge mainstream economic norms in many Western democracies, radically left-wing political actors have risen to prominence in many such countries. Despite their newfound prominence, the radical left remains understudied relative to their radical right counterparts. In my voter-level analysis, I test two common explanations of radical left support. First, the ‘policy-proximity’ account, which suggests radical left support is the result of proximity between voters and these actors on policy dimensions. I examine this with three plausibly relevant policy dimensions: economics, cultural policy, and migration policy. Second, the ‘populism-based’ account, which suggests the radical left draws support from populist voters attracted by their challenge to established political parties. I test both these accounts in three case studies: Germany, the US, and the UK. I draw upon survey data which includes voters’ support for the ...