Person: Wiesehomeier, Nina
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Nina
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Wiesehomeier
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IE University
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IE School of Politics, Economics & Global Affairs
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Comparative Politics
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Publication Expert surveys in party research(Taylor & Francis, 2023) Meijers, Maurits; Wiesehomeier, Nina; Carter, Neil; Keith, Daniel; Sindre, Gyda; Vasilopoulou, Sofia; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75Expert surveys have become indispensable data resources in party research. This chapter takes stock of the developments of expert surveys on political parties, and looks ahead at the challenges that face expert survey research. We trace the expansion of this tool over the last 35 years for measuring not only political parties’ policy positions on a plethora of policy dimensions but also its increasing use to elicit judgements on non-policy-related party characteristics such as organisational features as well as parties’ attitudes towards issues pertaining to democracy and representation. The chapter furthermore reviews the ways in which the resulting data has been utilised in party research. Finally, we discuss the methodological challenges that expert survey projects must tackle in the future, with specific attention to problems concerning expert bias, cross-country comparability, and expert burden and fatigue.Publication Xs we share: Context similarity, culture, and the diffusion of populism(Wiley, 2024-12-23) Wiesehomeier, Nina; Düpont, Nils; Ruth Lovell, Saskia ; German Research Foundation; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75Do populist ideas travel across borders? Anecdotal evidence suggests as much, yet so far we lack a systematic assessment of whether diffusion takes place, and if so under which conditions. We argue that context similarity enables the diffusion of populism among parties as it eases the adaption of populist framing of perceived grievances into the local context. Using a dyadic approach, we analyze diffusion effects among 923 parties in 67 countries from 1970 to 2018. We find that similar levels of political and economic exclusion foster learning from and emulating other parties abroad. We also uncover conditional effects for learning from other parties facing similar levels of income inequality or public sector corruption that hinge on a cultural prescreening. Combined, our results have important implications for a better understanding of diffusion processes in general and the spread of populist ideas around the globe in particular.Publication Trust the People? Populism, Trust, and Support for Direct Democracy(Cogitatio Press, 2024-10-28) Wiesehomeier, Nina; Ruth Lovell, Saskia ; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75Populism is commonly understood as a response to frustrations with the functioning of modern democracy, while the use of direct democratic mechanisms has been hailed as a remedy for the ailing of representative democracies. Indeed, populism’s emphasis on direct citizen participation in decision-making is tightly linked to its distrust of representative institutions and the political elite as the cornerstone of mediated representation. Trust, however, matters for any functioning democratic institutional arrangement, and we contend that its role warrants more attention when considering the viability of alternative modes of decision-making such as referendums, particularly in the nexus of populism–democracy. Using original public opinion surveys implemented in Argentina, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, we distinguish among different objects of trust—elites, institutions, “the people,” or the society at large. We also explore citizens’ levels of trust in these objects and their association with institutional designs of direct democracy. Our results offer preliminary insights into the importance of horizontal and vertical trust relationships in shaping procedural preferences for different configurations of direct democracy.Publication Conditional Populist Party Support The Role of Dissatisfaction and Incumbency(Cambridge University Press, 2025-02-03) Wiesehomeier, Nina; Ruth Lovell, Saskia ; Singer, Matthew; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75Populists emerge when distrust of state institutions or dissatisfaction with democracy convince voters that claims about conspiring elites blocking the general will are valid. We propose that these dynamics change when populists are incumbents; once they command institutions, their sustained support becomes contingent upon trust in the new institutional order, and they are held accountable for making people think democracy is working well. Newly collected data on party populism and survey data from Latin America show that support for populist parties in the region is conditioned by satisfaction with democracy as well as the incumbency status of populists. Dissatisfied voters support populist opposition parties, but support for populist incumbents is higher among those satisfied with democracy and its institutions. While democratic deficits and poor governance provide openings for populists, populists are held accountable for institutional outcomes.Publication Populism in Power and Different Models of Democracy(Cambridge University Press, 2025-01-15) Ruth Lovell, Saskia ; Wiesehomeier, Nina; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75Populism is both prolific and resilient. By now, populist forces around the globe have managed to enter the highest echelons of power (Rovira Kaltwasser and Taggart 2016). It is no wonder that the contemporary academic debate has shifted its focus to exploring the consequences of populism in power, particularly its impact on democracy. Although populism and democracy are not synonymous, the representation of “the people” is a central claim to both. Most populism scholars agree that “all forms of populism without exception involve some kind of exaltation of and appeal to ‘the people’” (Canovan 1981, 94). However, depending on which democratic ideas are emphasized over others—as well as which political practices and structures are favored to institutionalize these ideas (Dahl 1991; Held 2006; Lijphart 2012)—the basic tenet of the “rule by the people” may have many different meanings.Publication Corruption, Opportunity Networks, and Gender: Stereotypes of Female Politicians’ Corruptibility(Oxford Academy, 2020) Wiesehomeier, Nina; Verge, Tània; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75Given the gender stereotype that women are more ethical than men, people should assess female politicians as being less corruptible. Yet information about access to networks suggests that opportunities to engage in unethical behavior may counter this perception. Using a conjoint analysis in a nationally representative survey in Spain, a country shaken by corruption scandals, we asked respondents to identify the more corruptible politician between two hypothetical local councilors by imagining an investor willing to offer a bribe to advance business interests. Results indicate that female politicians do symbolically stand for honesty. However, this assessment is offset by embeddedness cues signaling a woman politician’s access to opportunity networks. We discuss our findings in light of instrumentalist arguments for an increase of women in politics as a means to combat corruption.Publication How Presidents Answer the Call of International Capital(Sage, 2023-11-01) Arnold, Christian ; Doyle, David; Wiesehomeier, Nina; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75How do governments manage expectations from international capital keen on pressuring them into adopting market-oriented economic policies during times of crises? Studying executive communication in 267 annual state-of-the-union speeches in 12 Latin American countries between 1980 and 2014 reveals two broad options for strategic position-taking on economic policies. First, when times are dire, presidents not only talk more about the economy and less about social policy, but they also attempt to repurpose other policies as an investment in development. Second, economic turmoil encourages presidents to signal policies, which are appealing to international capital owners. However, while currency crises exert more enduring pressure, the effects of loan crises are more fleeting. Our results are particularly relevant to all who seek to understand how governments use public statements to address pressures from financial markets.Publication Framing symbolic representation: exploring how women’s political presence shapes citizens’ political attitudes(Bristol University Press, 2020-06-01) Verge, Tània; Wiesehomeier, Nina; Espírito Santo, Ana; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75Research on whether descriptive representation enhances the legitimacy of, closeness to and satisfaction with political institutions, as well as levels of political engagement, has produced mixed results. This may be caused by the empirical and methodological challenges underpinning this inquiry, like reverse causation and endogeneity. To overcome such constraints, we use a framing experiment embedded in nationally representative online surveys in Spain and Portugal. We show that symbolic effects on women’s political engagement and system evaluation are fundamentally driven by perceptions of a heightened gender balance in political institutions, even when barriers to access on equal terms or gendered portrayals of women politicians’ competency are presented to respondents. Male citizens also evaluate the system more positively with frames referencing a more level political field, even when women politicians are depicted as not sufficiently prepared. Raising awareness of gains made in women’s descriptive representation is thus instrumental to positive symbolic effects.Publication Populism and Understandings of Democracy(Taylor & Francis, 2024-11-07) Wiesehomeier, Nina; Singer, Matthew; Chryssogelos, Angelos; Hawkins, Eliza Tanner; Hawkins, Kirk; Littvay, Levente; Wiesehomeier, Nina; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75The advancement of populism has led to a vivid discussion of its corrective or threatening potential for representative democracy. The impact of populism may depend, however, on the particular vision populist voters hold of democracy. Using questions from the European Social Survey (2012) that aim to measure the population's understanding of the concept of democracy, this paper explores whether populist voters differ significantly from non-populist voters in their understanding of democracy. The results suggest that European populists are not less likely to conceive of democracy in terms of electoral competition or liberal checks and balances. Rather, they are more likely to add elements of direct democracy, government transparency, and enhanced welfare state to those standard elements of democratic competition and strongly endorse democratic responsiveness by parties in office as public opinion shifts. Yet, the data also show that populist voters reject the protection of minority rights, are less satisfied with democracy than non-populist voters, and are less committed to democracy itself as an important ideal.