New Publication: Do parties perceive their voter potentials correctly? Reconsidering the spatial logic of electoral competition - Josephine Lichteblau, Heiko Giebler, Aiko Wagner
News from May 22, 2020
A precondition of effective spatial competition is that parties should know where their voter potentials are located. We find substantial differences between parties regarding the correct voter potential perception. The deviations can be traced back to the differences in the perceived left – right – positions. Spatial considerations are of great significance for the actual and the perceived voter potentials, but because these position considerations are not identical, the parties are limited in their ability to make optimal strategical decisions on how to attract voters from other parties.