What Does Suburbia Vote for?

Dr. Maarit Felicitas Ströbele

doi:10.5771/9783845279602

Summary

Is there such a thing as suburban political preference in Western Europe, and if so, how would such a finding be related to political cleavages? To answer these questions, this book combines approaches from political science and urban studies to explain how political preferences of core city and suburban voters differ from a cross-national comparative perspective by analysing Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The book postulates that urban-suburban divergences in political preference are related to diverging patterns of the daily use of spaces as well as to different lifestyles within the middle class.

The analyses show that suburbanites tend to prefer the conservative side of the political spectrum. Suburbia, despite being part of the urbanised world, tends towards political preference patterns that are closer to rural than to core city patterns. In a further context, the study aims to broaden the understanding of political cleavages in European multiparty democracies, particularly the urban-rural cleavage, by highlighting the relationship between one of the largest changes in the European landscape over the 20th century and its inhabitants’ political preferences.

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Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2017
ISBN-Print: 978-3-8487-3625-6
ISBN-Online: 978-3-8452-7960-2
Publisher: Nomos, Baden-Baden
Series: Politik und Demokratie in den kleineren Ländern Europas | Politics and Governance in the Smaller European Democracies
Volume: 14
Language: English
Pages: 331
Product type: Book Titles

Titelei/Inhaltsverzeichnis No access Pages 1 - 12
List of Abbreviations No access Pages 13 - 14
List of Tables No access Pages 15 - 18
List of Figures No access Pages 19 - 20
1. A first impression: Connecting suburbs and political ideas? No access
2. Background No access
3. Research questions No access
4. Structure of the book No access
5. 1. Suburbanisation No access
  2. Metropolitanisation No access
  3. Suburbs No access
  4. Core cities No access
  5. Rural municipalities No access
1. 1. Thinking of space and society No access
  2. Space as a (constructed) social category No access
  3. The empirical side: Categorising urban spaces No access
  4. Electoral preference and the idea of social space No access
  5. Suburbanisation and political preference No access
  6. Synopsis: geographical concepts in social and political science No access
2. 1. Classic political cleavage theory No access
  2. Changing cities – changing cleavages? No access
  3. The relationship between classic cleavages and suburbanisation No access
1. Main hypothesis: suburban conservatism No access
2. The prevalent family pattern No access
3. Taxation and dependence on public services No access
4. Municipal self-representation and anti-urbanism No access
1. The model of analysis No access
2. Country selection No access
3. Methods No access
4. Data No access
5. 1. Dependent variables No access
  2. Independent variables No access
1. 1. 1900-1930s: growing cities – growing suburbs No access
  2. 1933-1945: “Connection with the fertile soil” No access
  3. 1945–1990: The post-war economic boom and its urbanistic consequences No access
  4. 1990-today: the “in-between city” No access
  5. Conclusion: German suburbanisation and political ideas No access
2. 1. Measuring place of residence No access
  2. Other variables No access
3. 1. The broader picture: 2009 elections No access
  2. The broader picture: Individual party preference No access
  3. Family preferences and suburban political attitudes No access
  4. Urban public services and political attitudes No access
4. Country conclusions No access
1. 1. Pre–1945: The dawn of national planning instruments No access
  2. 1945-1980: Filling the polders with new suburban voters No access
  3. 1980-today: From an urban crisis to the “Vinexneighbourhood” No access
  4. Conclusion: Nationally planned suburbanisation, political issues, and the recent rise of right-wing parties No access
2. 1. Choice of data No access
  2. Measuring municipality categories in the Netherlands No access
  3. Dependent variables No access
  4. Independent variables No access
3. 1. A first overview: 2010 elections No access
  2. A first overview: Individual political preference No access
  3. Family pattern preference No access
  4. Use of public services No access
4. Country conclusions No access
1. 1. 1900-1950: The beginnings of suburbanisation No access
  2. 1950-1980: Economic boom and mass automobilisation No access
  3. 1980-2009: “Urbanscape Switzerland” No access
  4. Conclusion: suburbanisation and rurality No access
2. 1. Choice of data No access
  2. Measuring municipality categories in Switzerland No access
  3. Dependent variables No access
  4. Independent variables No access
3. 1. A first overview: 2011 elections No access
  2. A first overview: Individual political preferences No access
  3. Family pattern preferences No access
  4. Use of urban public services No access
4. Country conclusions No access
1. Historical aspects No access
2. Statistical aspects No access
1. Theoretical considerations No access
2. Implications for political research No access
3. Practical implications No access
4. Limitations No access
5. Closing remarks No access
Appendix No access Pages 291 - 291
Party preference according to subjective residence No access Pages 291 - 293
Germany No access Pages 294 - 315
Netherlands No access Pages 316 - 319
Switzerland No access Pages 320 - 323
Short biography of the author No access Pages 324 - 324
List of references No access Pages 325 - 331