Stranačka identifikacija i granice stranačke mobilizacije u Hrvatskoj nakon 2000. godine

Abstract

The article analyses the reasons behind the establishment of the asymmetrical pattern of mobilization of party support in the Croatian party system after 1990. It aims to asses to what extent linkages between parties and voters aff ect the volatility of electoral support. The argument starts with an observation that
electoral support for HDZ was very stable throughout the period after the 1990 elections, while the support for left and centre parties exhibited a high degree of volatility in each election since 1990. The article posits that the reasons behind this pattern of shifts in electoral support lies in the type of linkages between
parties and voters based on symbols and values shaped over a longer period of time, which were mobilized in the party system in 1990s and established stable linkages between parties and voters, eff ectively preventing any transmission of support across party bloc lines. Reasons behind the formation of asymmetrical pattern of mobilization lie in the fact that HDZ voters identify with their party based on values and symbols linked with the party itself, while voters of left and centre parties identify more with values these parties represent, more or less eff ectively, than with the parties themselves. Empirical analysis of factors
shaping party voter linkages fi nds that attitudes toward religion; history and traditional values are principal factors defi ning linkages between parties and voters. But at the same time, it appears that the character of these linkages is changing over time and that it depends on coalition patterns and shifts in messages of the party leadership.