Group Identifications and Voting Behavior: the Dutch Case
Max Visser · University of Twente Research Information · 1993
This article contains a rudimentary 'group theory' of voting behavior. People may attach themselves to various groups, but only in the cases that a clear relationship is being perceived between the group and political choice do these group identifications have relevance for voting behavior. Such a relationship exists when parties are explicitly group based (religious and workers' parties) or when parties are direct objects of identification (party identification). In the Dutch situation it is shown that the latter form of attachment is absent, but identifications with groups along lines of social class and religion are fairly influential with respect to voting choices.