International studies, Vol. IX No. 2, 2009.
Original scientific paper
Ideological Self-Placement on the Left - Right Dimension, Party Preferences, and The Ideology of Political Totalitarianism in Serbia
Zlatko Šram
; Institute for Migrations and Ethnicities, Zagreb, Croatia
Srećko Mihailović
; Institute for Social Sciences, Belgrade, Serbia
Abstract
The aim of research was to find out the associations between ideological self - placement on the left - right dimension, party preferences, and attitudinal - value pattern of political totalitarianism. The investigation was carried out using the sample of 2018 full aged participants on the territory of Republic of Serbia (out of Kosovo and Metohia). Measures of associations between ideological self - placement and party preferences were established on the bivariant level and under the model of correspondence analysis. Results have shown that in the Serbian electorate does not exist one-dimensional continuum party right-party left. Ideological - party identification is defined in two-dimensional space on the continuum (1) "extreme" left - right center and (2) center - "extreme" right. Factor analysis of the political totalitarianism scale (six items) yielded one-factor solution defined by the values of state centralism, state paternalism, and political authoritarianism. The results of analysis of variance have shown that political totalitarianism is more expressed by the participant who placed themselves on the "extreme" right and who prefer Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), Serbian Radical Party (SRS) and New Serbia (NS). In other words, political totalitarianism is more characteristic for "extreme left" socialists, "extreme right" radicals, and right supporters of New Serbia. A proportion of the variance of political totalitarianism is more explained by party preferences than by ideological self- placement. The authors points out some of the political implications if the Serbian government would be formed by the parties gathered around Democratic Party (DS) on one side, and around Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) on the other.
Keywords
ideological self - placement; left - right dimension; party preferences; political totalitarianism; correspodence analysis,; Serbia
Hrčak ID:
291367
URI
Publication date:
1.6.2009.
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