University of Twente Student Theses
Dissatisfaction, Welfare and Democracy: Explaining the link between welfare state service satisfaction and the voting behaviour of dissatisfied voters in the European Union
Zoll, M. (2014) Dissatisfaction, Welfare and Democracy: Explaining the link between welfare state service satisfaction and the voting behaviour of dissatisfied voters in the European Union.
|
PDF
1MB |
| Abstract: | Every modern-day nation state conducts nowadays social policy. However, it is on the basis of the “principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those unable to avail themselves of the minimal provisions for a good life“ (Britannica Online Encyclopaedia, 2014) that make him a welfare state. In this vein British sociologist Thomas Humphrey Marshall (1950) identified the welfare state as a special and distinctive combination of democracy, welfare and capitalism. Building on this, welfare states and their services all across the European Union have been facing several challenges and pressures since the 1975s. Theoretical questions centre if voters are therefore satisfied with what the welfare state services (still) achieves and if not if they hold politicians for their respective actions account. Conducting multiple regression analysis showed that there is link between welfare state service satisfaction and support for the governmental parties during elections through EU15 countries. However, analysis also implies that there is significant country variation in their actual magnitude. In addition to that the increasing embedded nature of the welfare state in the multi-level governance system of the European Union has hardly any influence on the relationship but instead other variables like the educational level of the voter and the trust in the countries parliament has a significant influence on the relationship. Keywords: Welfare State Service Satisfaction, Electoral Accountability, EU15, Representative Democracy |
| Item Type: | Essay (Bachelor) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 88 social and public administration |
| Programme: | Management Society and Technology BSc (56654) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/65521 |
| Export this item as: | BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager |
Show download statistics for this publication
Show download statistics for this publicationRepository Staff Only: item control page