Political Efficacy and Voter Turnouts in East and West Germany

Becker, Rolf (2004). Political Efficacy and Voter Turnouts in East and West Germany. German politics, 13(2), pp. 317-340. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group 10.1080/0964400042000248223

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This article asks if voters' participation in federal elections is lower in the new Länder (East Germany) than in the old Länder (West Germany). It is assumed that voters in the new Länder are less convinced they can influence politics by voting. Using the perspective of cognitive psychology the article stresses differences in individual interpretations of the election context among citizens of both the new and old Länder. Furthermore, it is argued that the strength of the expected influence by voting depends on the structure and direction of individuals' beliefs in their competence and control as well as their belief in causality and self-efficacy. These beliefs may differ among voters in the new and old Länder. For empirical analysis, the article uses data from the German General Social Survey 1998.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

07 Faculty of Human Sciences > Institute of Education > Sociology of Education

UniBE Contributor:

Becker, Rolf

Subjects:

300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology > 370 Education
300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology

ISSN:

0964-4008

Publisher:

Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group

Language:

English

Submitter:

Rolf Becker

Date Deposited:

25 Jul 2014 20:16

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 14:30

Publisher DOI:

10.1080/0964400042000248223

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/44543

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