Coalition mood in European parliamentary democracies

The success and longevity of coalition governments depends on the ability to keep conflicts between coalition members at bay. The risk of such conflicts is often assessed by drawing on proxy measures, such as the ideological heterogeneity among government parties. This article presents a new approac...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Imre, Michael (Author) , Ecker, Alejandro (Author) , Meyer, Thomas M. (Author) , Müller, Wolfgang C. (Author)
Format: Article (Journal)
Language:English
Published: 2023
In: British journal of political science
Year: 2023, Volume: 53, Issue: 1, Pages: 104-121
ISSN:1469-2112
DOI:10.1017/S0007123421000739
Online Access:Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123421000739
Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-political-science/article/coalition-mood-in-european-parliamentary-democracies/5DA0CDBF562E6655541E4762CA590501
Get full text
Author Notes:Michael Imre, Alejandro Ecker, Thomas M. Meyer and Wolfgang C. Müller
Description
Summary:The success and longevity of coalition governments depends on the ability to keep conflicts between coalition members at bay. The risk of such conflicts is often assessed by drawing on proxy measures, such as the ideological heterogeneity among government parties. This article presents a new approach to measuring the atmosphere between government parties. The ‘coalition mood’ is a time-varying measure that draws on applause patterns between coalition partners during legislative debates. The article exemplifies the measurement approach based on automated analyses of over 105,000 plenary debates in Germany and Austria. The article then assesses the measure's face, concurrent and predictive validity. It finds the measure well aligned with qualitative evidence, shows that the coalition mood is correlated with poll ratings of the government parties and helps to predict the duration of legislative processes. The conclusion highlights future applications of the coalition mood for research on coalition politics and public policy.
Item Description:Online veröffentlicht: 1. April 2022
Gesehen am 20.02.2025
Physical Description:Online Resource
ISSN:1469-2112
DOI:10.1017/S0007123421000739