Clarity of Responsibility Beyond the Pocketbook: How Political Institutions Condition EU Issue Voting

Abstract

One of the most influential findings of the voting behavior literature of the past two decades was the realization that the clarity of the domestic institutional context influences the relationship between economic perceptions and incumbent vote. This article extends this “clarity of responsibility” argument beyond economics to another policy field—European integration. To what extent do national political institutions mediate the extent to which voters reward or punish government for their policies relating to the European Union (EU) or European integration, that is, EU issue voting? Using data from the 2004 European Election Study, the authors provide evidence that clarity of responsibility affects the strength of EU issue voting. Specifically, EU issue voting is accentuated when the domestic institutional environment provides clear lines of responsibility. This finding suggests that the “Europeanization” of national electoral politics depends in part on the domestic institutional context within each member state.