Outcomes of legislative elections are typically reported in terms
of party support: how many votes and seats were obtained by each
party? But in fact voters are faced with three choices which must
be folded into one. They must decide which party they prefer, but
in so doing they must take account of the policies advocated by
these parties and the leaders who will eventually have to enact
them. This simple fact raises question about the relative weight of
these considerations, and espeically the importance granted to the
leaders. This issue has been largely neglected in the vast
literature on voting behaviour.The dominant traditions in the study
of voting behaviour focus on political parties and party
identification; and on political issues and ideology, respectively.
This volume uses election surveys over the past 50 years to
systematically assesses the impact of political leaders on voting
decisions in nine democracies (Australia, Britain, Canada, Germany,
the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United States). It
analyses issues such as the changes in political communication
(particularly the rise of televized politics), and the relative
importance accorded to political leaders in different types of
political systems. It demonstrates how electoral systems and other
political institutions have a discernible effect on the importance
voters accord to actual political leaders. Contrary to popular
wisdom, Political Leaders and Democratic Elections shows how
unimportant the characteristics of political leaders, parties, and
indeed the voters themselves actually are on voting patterns. The
volume shows that voters tend to let themselves be guided by the
leaders they like rather than being pushed away from those they
dislike. Comparative Politics is a series for students, teachers,
and researchers of political science that deals with contemporary
government and politics. Global in scope, books in the series are
characterised by a stress on comparative analysis and strong
methodological rigour. The series is published in association with
the European Consortium for Political Research. For more
information visit: www.ecprnet.eu. The Comparative Politics series
is edited by Professor David M. Farrell, School of Politics and
International Relations, University College Dublin, Kenneth Carty,
Professor of Political Science, University of British Columbia, and
Professor Dirk Berg-Schlosser, Institute of Political Science,
Philipps University, Marburg.
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