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Who Votes for the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW)? A Policy-Space Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Nils D. Steiner

    (Johannes-Gutenberg University, Germany)

  • Sven Hillen

    (Johannes-Gutenberg University, Germany)

Abstract

This contribution studies voting intentions for the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) from a policy-space perspective. What makes the new German party special is its unusual bundling of economically left-wing with culturally right-wing positions. We turn to survey data from March 2024 (GLES Tracking T57) to assess how this bundling is reflected in the positions of their supporters. Distinguishing between an economic policy dimension, a transnational dimension and a traditional morality dimension, we find that the probability of intending to vote for the BSW increases with more left-wing economic positions and with more nationalist positions. Conservative positions on traditional morality are not meaningfully associated with the overall probability of a BSW vote but make it more likely to support BSW rather than the Greens and less likely to support BSW relative to the AfD. We conclude that the policy-space perspective holds potential to understand the party’s early success, but that its voters are better characterized as ‘left-nationalists’ than ‘left-conservatives’.

Suggested Citation

  • Nils D. Steiner & Sven Hillen, 2024. "Who Votes for the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW)? A Policy-Space Perspective," Working Papers 2413, Gutenberg School of Management and Economics, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz.
    • Handle: RePEc:jgu:wpaper:2413
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Heath, Anthony & Taylor, Bridget & Brook, Lindsay & Park, Alison, 1999. "British National Sentiment," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 29(1), pages 155-175, January.
    2. Anthony Downs, 1957. "An Economic Theory of Political Action in a Democracy," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 65(2), pages 135-135.
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    Keywords

    BSW; German politics; issue voting; policy space.;
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