Line Rennwald | Université de Genève (original) (raw)

Papers by Line Rennwald

Einig - aber nicht einheitlich. 125 Jahre Sozialdemokratische Partei der Schweiz, 2013

Inner-wie ausserhalb der SP Schweiz ist oft zu hören, die Partei habe in den letzten Jahrzehnten ... more Inner-wie ausserhalb der SP Schweiz ist oft zu hören, die Partei habe in den letzten Jahrzehnten ihren Charakter grundlegend geändert. Sie sei von einer Arbeiter-zu einer Mittelschichtspartei geworden. Was ist daran wahr?

Quaderni di Rassegna Sindacale, 2018

Quasi ogni settimana, finanche ogni giorno, i primi titoli dei notiziari rac-contano di come i pa... more Quasi ogni settimana, finanche ogni giorno, i primi titoli dei notiziari rac-contano di come i partiti populisti e della destra radicale fingano di occu-parsi degli interessi di lavoratori e lavoratrici. Con la sua battaglia delle ta-riffe con la Cina, Donald Trump vuol far credere che riuscirà a difendere l'occupazione nei settori industriali degli Usa. In Francia, Marine Le Pen ha una strategia di lunga data che punta ai territori del nord della Francia con alti livelli di disoccupazione e povertà. In Italia, la promessa di introdurre un reddito di cittadinanza ha rappresentato una componente importante del manifesto del Movimento 5 stelle nell'ultima campagna elettorale. In Svizzera, l'Unione democratica di centro attacca la libertà di movimento delle persone fingendo di difendere i lavoratori svizzeri. Da diversi anni, la nuova agenda dei partiti della destra radicale populista si manifesta chiaramente. Radicarsi all'interno delle vecchie roccaforti della sinistra è una delle componenti più importanti della sua strategia elettorale. Come dimostrato in precedenti ricerche (Afonso, Rennwald 2018; Lefko-fridi, Michel 2017), l'agenda della destra radicale in materia di welfare è cambiata negli ultimi anni. Dopo essere stata per molto tempo un'istanza secondaria nei manifesti elettorali, i partiti della destra radicale hanno ini-ziato a prendere posizioni sempre più rilevanti in materia di welfare, fingen-do di difendere le posizioni pro-welfare. Di conseguenza, sia la destra radi-cale sia il movimento operaio tentano di mobilitare i lavoratori in quanto e-lettori.

Economic and Industrial Democracy, 2019

This article analyses the capacity of radical right parties to attract support from union members... more This article analyses the capacity of radical right parties to attract support from union members in recent elections in Western Europe. It is argued that unionized voters resist the appeals of the radical right better than non-union members. Using data from the European Social Survey 2010-2016, the article shows that union members are overall less likely to vote for the radical right than non-union members. Even though it is found that unionized working-class and middle-class voters are less likely to vote radical right than their non-unionized peers in the pooled sample, it is also observed that these subgroups of unionized voters and especially unionized working-class voters are not immune to radical right voting in all the countries analysed. The article thus indicates a growing capacity of the radical right to attract unionized working-class segments of the electorate in some countries and to directly compete with left parties for these voters.

The rise of the radical right fundamentally changes the face of electoral competition in Western ... more The rise of the radical right fundamentally changes the face of electoral competition in Western Europe. Bipolar competition is becoming tripolar, as the two dominant party poles of the twentieth century – the left and the centre-right – are challenged by a third pole of the radical right. Between 2000 and 2015, the radical right has secured more than 12 per cent of the vote in over ten Western European countries. This article shows how electoral competition between the three party poles plays out at the micro level of social classes. It presents a model of class voting that distinguishes between classes that are a party's preserve, classes that are contested strongholds of two parties and classes over which there is an open competition. Using seven rounds of the European Social Survey, it shows that sociocultural professionals form the party preserve of the left, and large employers and managers the preserve of the centre-right. However, the radical right competes with the centre-right for the votes of small business owners, and it challenges the left over its working-class stronghold. These two contested strongholds attest to the coexistence of old and new patterns of class voting. Old patterns are structured by an economic conflict: Production workers vote for the left and small business owners for the centre-right based on their economic attitudes. In contrast, new patterns are linked to the rise of the radical right and structured by a cultural conflict.

In a growing number of countries, the two dominant political poles of the 20th century, the parti... more In a growing number of countries, the two dominant political poles of the 20th century, the parties of the Left and the Centre-Right, are challenged by a third pole made up by the Radical Right. Between 2000 and 2015, the Radical Right has obtained more than 12 per cent of the vote in over ten Western European countries and in over twenty national elections. We argue that the three poles compete with each other for the allegiance of different social classes. Our analysis shows the micro-foundations of class voting in nine West European countries where the political space was tripolar for part – or all – of the period between 2000 and 2015. Based on the European Social Survey 2002-2014, we find that socio-cultural professionals still form the party preserve of the Left, and large employers and managers constitute the party preserve of the Centre-Right. However, the Radical Right competes with the Centre-Right for the votes of small business owners, and it challenges the Left over its traditional working-class stronghold. These two contested strongholds attest to the coexistence of old and new patterns of class voting. The analysis of voters’ attitudes shows that old patterns are structured by the economic axis of conflict: production workers’ support for the Left and small business owners’ endorsement of the Centre-Right. In contrast, new patterns are linked to the rise of the Radical Right and structured by the cultural axis of conflict: the support for the Radical Right by production workers and small business owners.

European Journal of Political Research, 2016

British Journal of Industrial Relations, 2015

West European Politics, 2014

Swiss Political Science Review, 2012

Ce chapitre examine les liens entre les classes sociales et les partis de gauche entre 1995 et 20... more Ce chapitre examine les liens entre les classes sociales et les partis de gauche entre 1995 et 2007. A cette fin, trois questions sont soulevées : (i) quelles classes sont surreprésentées et sous-représentées dans l'électorat des partis de gauche ? (ii) Est-ce que les bouleversements dans la force électorale des partis depuis 1995 sont allés de pair avec des changements de la préférence partisane au niveau des classes ? (iii) Quel est l'effet d'autres déterminants sociodémographiques sur le choix de vote ? Les résultats de l'analyse montrent que ce n'est pas auprès des ouvriers que les partis de gauche ont le plus de succès, mais auprès des nouvelles classes moyennes salariées. Deux catégories surtout, les spécialistes socio-culturels et techniques, adhèrent fortement aux partis socialiste et vert, alors que les petits indépendants sont fortement sous-représentés dans l'électorat de gauche. De même, les classes populaires ont tourné le dos aux socialistes. A la fin des années 1990, l'UDC s'est substituée au PS comme premier parti parmi les ouvriers en Suisse. Au niveau géographique, la gauche est beaucoup mieux implantée dans l'électorat des grandes villes que dans les régions périurbaines et rurales. Enfin, les partis socialiste et vert sont très populaires parmi les jeunes gens en formation et les employés du secteur public, mais ont beaucoup de peine à gagner le vote des femmes au foyer (pour le parti socialiste) et des retraités (pour les Verts). 5 La disparition du vote ouvrier ? Le vote de classe et les partis de gauche en Suisse Daniel oesch line rennWalD É P R E U V E I É P R E U V E I 1 Ce chapitre a bénéficié de commentaires très utiles de la part de Hanspeter Kriesi, Sarah Nicolet et Pascal Sciarini. Nous leurs en sommes reconnaissants. É P R E U V E I É P R E U V E I 5. la disparition du vote ouvrier 223

Les préférences politiques des classes sociales et le vote de gauche en Suisse en 2007 Daniel oes... more Les préférences politiques des classes sociales et le vote de gauche en Suisse en 2007 Daniel oesch line rennWalD 6

Swiss Political Science Review, 2014

1 : This article deals with the evolution of class voting in Switzerland from 1971 to 2011. It sh... more 1 : This article deals with the evolution of class voting in Switzerland from 1971 to 2011. It shows that class cleavage (working class versus owners/employers) has weakened in Switzerland. The existence of a large right-wing party with strong support among the working class contributes to blurring the traditional class divisions in voting. However, the analysis indicates that class cleavage has not completely disappeared. The centre-right parties display much continuity in their class basis over time, thus contributing to the persistence of class cleavage. Besides taking into account the diversity of the right-wing parties, the article also offers a new perspective by including nonvoting. Class differences in turnout are important in Switzerland, but the findings suggest that the most important change over time concerns party choice and not turnout.

This article argues that a full grown cleavage has surfaced in Swiss politics, separating a liber... more This article argues that a full grown cleavage has surfaced in Swiss politics, separating a libertarian-universalistic (the New Left) from a traditionalist-communitarian camp (the Populist Right). Based on survey data of Switzerland’s parliamentary election 2007, it examines the cleavage’s micro-foundations and shows that the class constituencies of the New Left (the Social-Democratic and Green Parties) and the Populist Right (the Swiss People’s Party) present the almost exact mirror image of each other. The former draws disproportionate support from the salaried middle class, notably socio-cultural professionals, whereas the latter is rallied by small business owners, production and service workers. Although anchored in the employment structure, this divide is not primarily about the economy and resources, but about culture and identity. It thus strongly correlates with opposing cultural attitudes. While small business owners and workers prefer cultural demarcation and defend national traditions, salaried professionals strongly favour international integration and multi-culturalism.

Books by Line Rennwald

Palgrave Macmillan, 2020

This open access book carefully explores the relationship between social democracy and its workin... more This open access book carefully explores the relationship between social democracy and its working-class electorate in Western Europe. Relying on different indicators, it demonstrates an important transformation in the class basis of social democracy. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the working-class vote is strongly fragmented and social democratic parties face competition on multiple fronts for their core electorate – and not only from radical right parties. Starting from a reflection on ‘working-class parties’ and using a sophisticated class schema, the book paints a nuanced and diversified picture of the trajectory of social democracy that goes beyond a simple shift from working-class to middle-class parties. Following a detailed description, the book reviews possible explanations of workers' new voting patterns and emphasizes the crucial changes in parties' ideologies. It closes with a discussion on the role of the working class in social democracy's future electoral strategies.