Andrija Henjak

Bio: Andrija Henjak is an academic researcher from University of Zagreb. The author has contributed to research in topics: Democracy & European integration. The author has an hindex of 7, co-authored 18 publications receiving 142 citations. Previous affiliations of Andrija Henjak include Central European University.

Political Cleavages and Socio-economic Context: How Welfare Regimes and Historical Divisions Shape Political Cleavages

Abstract: The paper argues that despite significant changes taking place in the social structure of contemporary industrial societies and the weakening of links between parties and voters, structure and value-based divisions still count as a source of electoral behavior in advanced industrial societies. Furthermore, the way these divisions impact on the politics of Western European countries is affected by the characteristics of welfare regimes and the historical importance of cultural and economic divisions. Interaction of these two variables produces three configurations of cleavages. In the first configuration dominance belongs to economic cleavages. In the second configuration economic cleavages are supplanted by weaker cultural cleavages. In the third configuration cultural cleavages have a more important role than economic cleavages. The empirical analysis using European Value Survey data broadly supports these expectations and finds the presence of a link between welfare state characteristics and historical ...

Support for European Integration

Abstract: © Oxford University Press, 2014. This chapter examines generalized support for the EU rather than attitudes towards specific institutions and policies. Theories about its origin are subjected to more comprehensive empirical tests than previous analyses attempted, using time-series cross-section data covering all member states from the 1970s to 2007. The dynamic relationship between EU-support and national economic and political developments follows a transfer, rather than substitution logic, while increasing trade with EU member states, high cognitive mobilization, low welfare spending, Catholicism and favourable labour market position all contribute to favourable dispositions towards EU-membership. Other often suggested influences on EU support appear inconsistently across nations or time, which we attribute to the nature of the EU itself that generates diverse, contradictory, and ever-changing expectations among citizens.

This time it’s different? Effects of the Eurovision Debate on young citizens and its consequence for EU democracy – evidence from a quasi-experiment in 24 countries

Abstract: For the very first time in EU history, the 2014 EP elections provided citizens with the opportunity to influence the nomination of the Commission President by casting a vote for the main Europarties’ ‘lead candidates’. By subjecting the position of the Commission President to an open political contest, many experts have formulated the expectation that heightened political competition would strengthen the weak electoral connection between EU citizens and EU legislators, which some consider a root cause for the EU’s lack of public support. In particular, this contest was on display in the so-called ‘Eurovision Debate’, a televised debate between the main contenders for the Commission President broadcasted live across Europe. Drawing on a quasi-experimental study conducted in 24 EU countries, we find that debate exposure led to increased cognitive and political involvement and EU support among young citizens. Unfortunately, the debate has only reached a very small audience.

Values or interests: Economic Determinants of Voting Behavior in the 2007 Croatian Parliamentary Elections

Abstract: Summary The article examines the importance of economic issues as determinants of voting behavior in Croatia in the 2007 parliamentary elections. It seeks to establish whether there is an electoral division between winners and losers of transition in Croatia and whether the voters’ positions on economic issues are mainly shaped by their political affiliation, rather than their position in the social structure. Drawing upon survey data from the 2007 elections, it is argued here that economic issues, notably the division between transitional winners and losers, do not play an important role in determining support for the two main political parties. The article also finds that the voters’ opinion on economic issues salient in recent elections and the voters’ evaluation of economic conditions are mostly structured by their affiliation to a particular political party. Finally, it concludes that economic issues are less relevant in structuring the voting behavior in Croatia than the ones related to culture and history, and that, unless a major realignment takes place, what voter’s think about economic issues could be largely conditioned by what parties they support say.

Restructuration of Partisan Politics and the Emergence of a New Cleavage Based on Values

Abstract: The cleavage concept is a very demanding concept that limits the possibilities of finding any new examples of cleavages. And, indeed, many authors, some of whom contributing to the present volume, mainly perceive a decline of cleavages, or at best a stabilization of old cleavages, but hardly anything new. However, new cleavages may be hard to find, because we look in the wrong places for their structural basis: it might just be that their value/normative element is contributing crucially to the structural closure of the groups involved – as it did in the case of religion previously. If we take such a possibility into account, several of the contributions to the present volume provide evidence for the emergence of a new value-based cleavage, which has mainly, albeit not exclusively, been driven by the challengers of the New Left and the new populist right.

Complexity in the European party space: Exploring dimensionality with experts

Abstract: Does the n-issue space in domestic European polities reduce to one, two, or more dimensions? How do these dimensions relate to each other? More broadly, how does dimensionality vary across countries? We attempt to advance our understanding of political contestation in Europe by mapping the dimensionality of the political space across 24 countries using Chapel Hill expert survey (CHES) data. We test how well different models of the European political space fit the CHES data and find that three-dimensional models best fit the data in all countries. However, there is considerable cross-national variation in how the three dimensions relate to one another. Given this, we present a new measure of dimensional complexity that captures the degree to which these three dimensions are related. In so doing, we improve our understanding of the complexity of the political space in European countries.

Radical-Left Populism during the Great Recession: Podemos and Its Competition with the Established Radical Left:

Abstract: The 2008 Great Recession has altered party allegiances in many countries. This has been very visible in some of the countries hardest hit by the crisis, such as Spain. The Spanish case stands out as the only one in which a fully newly created radical-left populist party, Podemos, has attracted sizeable support. Its success is more intriguing given its capacity to attract many former supporters of the established radical left, Izquierda Unida. This article analyses what factors explain the support for the new radical-left populist party Podemos, identifying the individual-level features that lead voters to support it rather than an already established anti-austerity radical-left party. As the results show, Podemos supporters do not correspond to the conventional descriptions of populist voters, the losers of ‘globalisation’ and the economic crisis. Instead, a combination of elements – protest, anti-mainstream sentiment and unfulfilled expectations – distinguishes Podemos supporters from the established rad...

The Role of Political Efficacy on Public Opinion in the European Union

Abstract: Recent developments in EU (European Union) support literature confirm that citizen attitudes towards the EU are shaped by both input-oriented factors relating to the procedural fairness of the system (e.g. political representation and identity) and output-oriented factors based on the EU's capacity to yield economic benefits. This article builds on these models by suggesting a theoretical framework of support that is driven by both perceptions of the economy and political efficacy. Using data from the 2013 Eurobarometer 80.1, I find that political efficacy is a key predictor of public opinion towards the EU and that citizens who feel their voice is represented in the EU are more likely to maintain support for the EU even when their perceptions of the economy are poor. The findings in this article have particular significance to the puzzle of declining support for the EU following the onset of the ‘great recession’ in 2008.