| 1. |
- Aggeborn, Linuz, 1986-, et al.
(author)
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Granting Immigrants the Right to Vote in National Elections : Empirical Evidence from Swedish Administrative Data
- 2024
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In: British Journal of Political Science. - : Cambridge University Press. - 0007-1234 .- 1469-2112.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Faced with rising levels of cross-border migration, many countries have extended local voting rights to non-citizen residents. However, empirical evidence indicates that voter turnout among non-naturalized immigrants is lower when compared to citizens. This raises the question of how to explain this difference. A common answer is that the low turnout rates of non-citizen residents are primarily due to the socio-economic composition of this group and the challenges involved in adapting to a new political system. An alternative but less discussed possibility is that the low turnout concerns the nature of the elections. Hence, we examine whether the turnout of non-citizens is hampered because they are only allowed to partake in local elections. Based on a regression discontinuity design (RDD) using Swedish administrative data, we find that turnout could increase by 10-20 percentage points if the voting rights of non-citizens were extended to the national level.
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| 2. |
- Dehdari, Sirus Håfström, 1983-
(author)
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Radical Right, Identity, and Retaliation
- 2018
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Economic Distress and Support for Far-right Parties – Evidence from Sweden. This paper studies the effects of economic distress on support for far-right parties. Using Swedish election data, I show that layoff notifications among low-skilled native-born workers account for 31 percent of the increased vote share for the Swedish far-right party the Sweden Democrats. The effect of layoff notifications on support for the Sweden Democrats is larger in areas with a high share of low-skilled immigrants, and in areas with a low share of high-skilled immigrants. These findings are in line with theories suggesting that voters attribute their impaired economic status to immigration, due to labor market concerns. Furthermore, I find no effects on voting for other anti-EU and anti-globalization parties, challenging the notion that economic distress increases anti-globalization sentiment. Using detailed survey data, I present suggestive evidence of how increased salience of political issues related to immigration channels unemployment risk into support for far-right parties.The Origins of Common Identity: Division, Homogenization Policies and Identity Formation in Alsace-Lorraine. We exploit the quasi-exogenous division of the French regions Alsace and Lorraine after the Franco-Prussian War in 1870 due to disagreements in the German leadership to provide evidence of group identity formation within historically homogeneous regions. People in the treated area, which was exposed to repressive homogenization policies aimed to suppress group identity, express a stronger regional identity and support more regional autonomy today. Using a regression discontinuity design at the municipal level, we find that support for two crucial referenda, which would have increased regional autonomy, subscription rates to regional newspapers, and regionalist party votes are significantly higher in the treated area. The results are robust across different specifications and bandwidths, and not driven by language differences, large agglomerations or distance to foreign countries. The differences in regional identity are strongest for the first two age cohorts after World War II and become weaker for later generations.Gender Differences in Revenge and Strategic play: A Natural Experiment. This paper provides new evidence of gender differences in retaliatory behavior. Using game show data from a natural setting where stakes are high, we ask whether men are more likely to retaliate following an attack and whether the gender of the target matters for this decision. The behavior studied in this paper is the decision of whom to send the question to in a quiz show setting. We observe a 23 percent gender gap in the propensity to retaliate: women are less likely to seek revenge. The gender of the target matters for women but not for men, with women being more likely to retaliate against men than women. In addition, we show that retaliation is a successful way to avert future attacks in the short term. This is especially true for women, yet we find that women seek less revenge than men.
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| 3. |
- Håfström Dehdari, Sirus, 1983-, et al.
(author)
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A Pink Slip for the Blue Reform: Is Selection, Experience, or Ideology the Elixir of Populists’ Survival?
- 2022
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In: Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy. - : Now Publishers. - 2689-4823 .- 2689-4815. ; 3:1, s. 1-21
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Why do some populist parties thrive while others fail or split? Is it possible for populists to maintain anti-establishment nature while being in a coalition with the mainstream parties? We study the populist Finns Party that split while being part of a coalition government. The splinter party Blue Reform retained its part in government and most of the experienced political personnel, yet it failed in the next election while the rump party remained popular. Leveraging rich data on electoral candidates and voters, we explore various potential drivers of the electoral persistence of populist parties: candidate quality, selection, office perks, and ideological motivations. Our results indicate that ideological proximity with voters and their demand for descriptive representation are keys for the electoral success of populist parties. This has implications for the political and policy consequences of including populists in government. In particular, our work highlights that there are limits on the electoral returns to ideological moderation, and that political experience and the perks of office alone do not guarantee populists’ survival.
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| 4. |
- Håfström Dehdari, Sirus, 1983-, et al.
(author)
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The Ex-Factor : Examining the Gendered Effect of Divorce on Voter Turnout
- 2022
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In: American Political Science Review. - 0003-0554 .- 1537-5943. ; 116:4, s. 1293-1308
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The absence of a gendered analysis of the effect of marriage on voting is surprising given researchers’ cognizance of the heterogeneous effects of marriage on a range of other social outcomes. In this paper, we shed new light on spousal dependency by studying the gendered effect of marital disruption, in the form of divorce, on voter turnout. First, drawing on Swedish populationwide data, we use the differential timing of divorces in relation to general elections to generate more credible estimates of the causal effect of divorce on turnout. Second, although we find that both sexes are adversely affected by divorce, we show that the effect is much more pronounced for men. Specifically, the long-term effect is almost twice as large for men. Finally, we use these data to show that the gendered effect of divorce is mainly driven by asymmetrical spousal mobilization due to higher levels of turnout among women.
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| 5. |
- Håfström Dehdari, Sirus, 1983-, et al.
(author)
-
The Ex-Factor : Examining the Gendered Effect of Divorce on Voter Turnout
- 2022
-
In: American Political Science Review. - : Cambridge University Press. - 0003-0554 .- 1537-5943. ; 116:4, s. 1293-1308
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The absence of a gendered analysis of the effect of marriage on voting is surprising given researchers’ cognizance of the heterogeneous effects of marriage on a range of other social outcomes. In this paper, we shed new light on spousal dependency by studying the gendered effect of marital disruption, in the form of divorce, on voter turnout. First, drawing on Swedish populationwide data, we use the differential timing of divorces in relation to general elections to generate more credible estimates of the causal effect of divorce on turnout. Second, although we find that both sexes are adversely affected by divorce, we show that the effect is much more pronounced for men. Specifically, the long-term effect is almost twice as large for men. Finally, we use these data to show that the gendered effect of divorce is mainly driven by asymmetrical spousal mobilization due to higher levels of turnout among women.
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