Electoral Systems, Party Mobilisation and Political Engagement

Abstract

Electoral systems are assumed to enhance political efficacy and encourage participation through party mobilisation because they create incentives for parties (or candidates) to mobilise voters. This paper makes use of survey data collected after elections in more than 30 countries, spanning a variety of party systems in both established and new democracies, to examine how party mobilisation varies across context and what difference it makes. The results demonstrate that political efficacy and behaviour are enhanced when parties mobilise voters. This is most likely to occur in systems where parties compete in a narrow issue space. In contrast, citizens are less likely to come into contact with parties in polarised systems. This has consequences for both political attitudes and engagement.