Of Love and Hate. Origins and Effects
of Positive and Negative Party Identification in Poland
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SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities
Publication date: 2022-03-21
Polish Sociological Review 2022;217(1):3-22
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ABSTRACT
The nature and effects of party identification in post-communist democracies have been an object of
disputes, as the existing research does not lead to conclusive results. The present paper contributes to the discussion
with analyses of four-fold typology of partisans (Rose, Mishler 1998), who either have a positive or negative party
identification, or both, or none. We embed this typology in a contemporary Polish context. Using the PNES data
for the 2005–2019 elections, we examine the proportions of each type of partisanship and their stability in time.
We also verify what their determinants are and what their influence on electoral participation is. Our results
demonstrate that positive and negative party identifications are of rational origin, although since 2015, expressive
partisanship is also developing. We also prove that positive, negative, and combined motivations make Poles more
prone to vote, contributing to the stability of democracy on a behavioral level.
FUNDING
The author worked on this text within the framework of research grants no. 2016/21/ D/HS5/03846 (Political branding: new approach to party–voter relationship) and 2018/31/B/HS5/03403 (Polish National Election Study 2019) funded by National Science Centre Poland, conducted at the Institute
of Social Sciences, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Warsaw.