Does Globalization Make a Difference?

Marie Curie Reintegration Grant February 2008-2012
MIRG-CT_2007-204997



The objective of this project is to find answers for the following questions, primarily using data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES).  For details of this dataset, see the Comparative Study of Electorate Systems website.  

The project has also generated an expert survey on party positions on globalization-related issues, and the overall salience of globalization by country (see Vowles and Xezonakis, 2009, below).

Our most central question is this: across a wide range of democratic nations, does the extent to which their economies and polities are ‘globalized’ affect public attitudes and political behaviour?  More specifically:

Are citizens in the most globalized nations more likely to perceive that neither voting nor their ultimate choice of political leaders can ‘make a difference’, when compared to citizens in less globalized countries?

Do citizens in more globalized societies perceive significant differences between political parties?

Do such perceptions lead those citizens to be less likely to turn out to vote, less likely to seek to dismiss or change incumbent governments, and less likely to hold governments to account for their economic performances?

And meanwhile, do citizens in less globalized countries perceive themselves better able to control their governments and the policies they pursue?
Researchers

 Professor Jack Vowles, University of Exeter
Dr. Georgios Xezonakis, University of Exeter
Publications

Vowles, Jack, 2008. ‘Does Globalization Affect Public Perceptions of ‘Who in power Can Make a Difference’? Evidence from 40 Countries, 1996-2006’ Electoral Studies 27, 63-76.

Vowles, Jack and Georgios Xezonakis, 2009. ‘Globalization, Democracy, and the Great Recession’, presented to the 2009 Elections, Public Opinion, and Parties (EPOP) Conference, University of Strathclyde, August 27-28.
In preparation

Vowles, Jack and Georgios Xezonakis, 'From Positional to Valence Issues: Is Globalization the Cause?'. Paper for presentation at the Annual Meetings of the American Poltical Science Association, Washington DC, September 1-5 2010.