Rationality of irrationality : political determinants and effects of party position blurring / Kyung Joon Han.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Han, Kyung Joon, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political parties--Platforms.

Political parties.

Political party rules.

Political psychology.

Right and left (Political science).

Political parties--Europe, Western.

Political parties--United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (232 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Ann Arbor, Michigan : University of Michigan Press, 2022.

Summary:

Citizens in democracies complain that political parties' positions on major issues are too ambiguous for them to confidently understand. Why is party position ambiguity so common? Are party positions ambiguous because political parties fail in forming a clear policy position or because they deliberately blur their position? Rationality of Irrationality argues that political parties are motivated to strategically blur their position on an issue when they struggle with a certain disadvantage in the issue. Specifically, political parties present an ambiguous position when their own supporters are divided in their stances on the issue. A political party also blurs a position stance when voters do not acknowledge that the party has ability and integrity to solve problems related to the issue. Political parties blur their position in these cases because ambiguous party positions divert voters' attention from the issue. Voters support a political party whose policy positions on major issues are close to their own stances. However, voters cannot confidently and exactly estimate party positions on an issue when they are only ambiguous.

Notes:

Title from eBook information screen..

Includes bibliographical references (pages 193-215) and index.

CC BY-NC-ND

Description based on information from the publisher.

ISBN:

9780472902910

0472902911

OCLC:

1313669504