The aim of this thesis is to examine the consequences of the economic crisis on the voting behavior of Greek citizens. The study seeks to discover the degree of influence of the economic issue on...Show moreThe aim of this thesis is to examine the consequences of the economic crisis on the voting behavior of Greek citizens. The study seeks to discover the degree of influence of the economic issue on vote choice and provides an answer to the question of whether decreased support for the two traditional incumbent parties and increased support for the opposition parties can be attributed to the deterioration of the national economy. The analysis demonstrates that electoral volatility cannot be explained by the economic factor in the Greek case. The results suggest that partisan loyalties, which have affected political decisions in Greece historically, continue to have a strong impact in recent times. Greek voters seem to be highly influenced by long-term components, even in the context of the current economic recession.Show less
Addressing a shortcoming in theories on the influence of emotion on political decision-making this thesis aims to explore the distinct effects of anger on voting behavior in the Netherlands. The...Show moreAddressing a shortcoming in theories on the influence of emotion on political decision-making this thesis aims to explore the distinct effects of anger on voting behavior in the Netherlands. The biological origin of emotion and its function in individuals and social interactions, specifically the influence on decision-making processes, are justification for including emotion in a model of vote choice. However, this inclusion should correspond with the biology and theoretical predictions of emotional effects. The most complete and authoritative model which includes emotion is the Theory of Affective Intelligence (AI). Because in the operationalization of anxiety fear and anger are combined, the theory is flawed in this respect. This is an important issue to address since it can have a significant impact on predictions from the model. Predictions that can be used to solve the ongoing debate on the personalization of Dutch politics by pointing to the different circumstances under which voters rely on different decision-making strategies. Using a a online survey to collect data, which included items on candidate traits, policy preferences and ideology, party attachments and background items, the hypotheses for the specific effects of anger were tested in a model based on logistic regression. The survey included a manipulation of the emotional state. Results show some distinct influences of anger and fear. Fear increases the relative weight candidate traits in a vote-choice, whereas anger increases the weight of ideological distance and policy preferences. Furthermore, party-attachments are weak and knowledge seems to have no effect.Show less
