Ideological Ambiguity and Political Spectrum

Hector Galindo-Silva

Papers from arXiv.org

Abstract: This study examines the relationship between ambiguity and the ideological positioning of political parties across the political spectrum. We identify a strong non-monotonic (inverted U-shaped) relationship between party ideology and ambiguity within a sample of 202 European political parties. This pattern is observed across all ideological dimensions covered in the data. To explain this pattern, we propose a novel theory that suggests centrist parties are perceived as less risky by voters compared to extremist parties, giving them an advantage in employing ambiguity to attract more voters at a lower cost. We support our explanation with additional evidence from electoral outcomes and economic indicators in the respective party countries.

Date: 2023-08, Revised 2024-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cdm and nep-pol
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Journal Article: Ideological ambiguity and political spectrum (2024)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:arx:papers:2308.05912

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