VARFÖR RÖSTAR FLER MÄN ÄN KVINNOR PÅ HÖGERPOPULISTISKA PARTIER? En studie kring kulturell backlash påverkan på könsgapet

Abstract

In most of the countries in Europe it exists a substantial overrepresentation of men voting for right wing populist parties. This paper focuses on understanding why these parties attract more men than women. The hypothesis is based on the theory of Cultural Backlash, were men are expected to express stronger backlash attitudes towards values that questions patriarchal structures, such as feminism and alternative family constellations. Individuals with backlash attitudes should find right wing populist parties attractive, since their discourse expresses a firm belief in conserving the traditional institutions and norms of society. Furthermore, countries with internalised post-materialistic values are expected to contain individuals with stronger backlash tendencies than in conservative countries. The hypotheses are operationalised through regression- and interaction analysis on a large group of voters in Western European countries. In relation to cultural backlash, general theories regarding support of right-wing populist parties are also tested. The results of the study show that countries with post-materialistic values do contain individuals with stronger backlash tendencies. Furthermore, cultural backlash values do not affect men’s tendency to vote for a right-wing populist party. Instead, the result show that such values are affecting women’s tendency to vote for such a party negatively. This suggests that women are more sensitive to conform to social norms and to avoid parties that are stigmatised. The result leads to the conclusion that gender norms play a vital role in individuals voting behaviour.