Ideological ambiguity and political spectrum

This study examines the relationship between ambiguity and the ideological positioning of political parties across the political spectrum. We identify a strong non-monotonic (inverted U-shaped) relationship between party ideology and ambiguity within a sample of 202 European political parties. This...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Economics of governance 2024-06, Vol.25 (2), p.139-180
Main Author: Galindo-Silva, Hector
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ambiguity
Centrism
Econometrics
Economic indicators
Economic Theory/Quantitative Economics/Mathematical Methods
Economics
Economics and Finance
Elections
Extremism
Ideology
International Political Economy
Original Paper
Political parties
Political Theory
Public Administration
Public Finance
Voters
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary:This study examines the relationship between ambiguity and the ideological positioning of political parties across the political spectrum. We identify a strong non-monotonic (inverted U-shaped) relationship between party ideology and ambiguity within a sample of 202 European political parties. This pattern is observed across all ideological dimensions covered in the data. To explain this pattern, we argue that centrist parties are perceived as less risky by voters compared to extremist parties, giving them an advantage in employing ambiguity to attract more voters at a lower cost. We support our explanation with additional evidence from electoral outcomes and economic indicators in the respective party countries.
ISSN:1435-6104
1435-8131
DOI:10.1007/s10101-024-00310-2