A Heterogeneous Electorate

This book presents a detailed analysis of the process of electoral change and its consequences in Germany and Switzerland since the late 1960s. During this period, citizens have become more uncertain of their electoral preferences, with more voters switching between competing parties or making their voting choice only shortly before going to the polls. This books sets out to explain such ‘symptoms’ of uncertainty and their consequences for our understanding of the voting decision process. It shows that patterns of instability in voters’ preferences are best explained by considering two characteristics of voters: their level of political sophistication and the strength of their social-structural predispositions. The interaction between these two factors is systematically related to central aspects of the voting decision process, such as attitude stability, electoral volatility, or citizens’ propensity to be influenced by electoral campaigns.