Democracy under strain - The political effects of financial bailouts on citizens and parties

TY - BOOK

T1 - Democracy under strain - The political effects of financial bailouts on citizens and parties

AU - Ruiz-Rufino, Ruben

PY - 2025/4/1

Y1 - 2025/4/1

N2 - This book explores how national democratic performance is affected when an economic shock threatens the stability of a supranational economic union. It introduces the concept of democracy under strain, describing how countries integrated into such a union lose control over their policy agenda in the presence of asymmetric economic shocks. The asymmetry in the effects of such shocks orients member states into two different groups: those facing deteriorating domestic economies and those concerned with financial contagion and the overall stability of the union. In this scenario, one response strategy on the part of the union is to require the troubled economies to honour the commitments they made upon joining. Doing so, however, may imply adopting unpopular policies and prioritizing institutional responsibility over policy responsiveness. What are the political consequences of supranational responsibility trumping national responsiveness? To answer this question, the book focuses on the management of the eurozone sovereign debt crisis, examining how financial bailouts impacted citizens and political parties. Employing various quantitative methods, it demonstrates that citizens subjected to stringent policy conditionality experienced a negative reassessment of how democracy works. Similarly, the political parties that accepted and managed the bailout conditions saw significant electoral declines due to the tension between responsibility and responsiveness.This analysis contributes to the debate in empirical democratic theory on how democratic and economic priorities can be reconciled. By investigating the interplay between economic stability and democratic responsiveness, the book provides insights into the complex political dynamics at play within supranational unions during economic crises

AB - This book explores how national democratic performance is affected when an economic shock threatens the stability of a supranational economic union. It introduces the concept of democracy under strain, describing how countries integrated into such a union lose control over their policy agenda in the presence of asymmetric economic shocks. The asymmetry in the effects of such shocks orients member states into two different groups: those facing deteriorating domestic economies and those concerned with financial contagion and the overall stability of the union. In this scenario, one response strategy on the part of the union is to require the troubled economies to honour the commitments they made upon joining. Doing so, however, may imply adopting unpopular policies and prioritizing institutional responsibility over policy responsiveness. What are the political consequences of supranational responsibility trumping national responsiveness? To answer this question, the book focuses on the management of the eurozone sovereign debt crisis, examining how financial bailouts impacted citizens and political parties. Employing various quantitative methods, it demonstrates that citizens subjected to stringent policy conditionality experienced a negative reassessment of how democracy works. Similarly, the political parties that accepted and managed the bailout conditions saw significant electoral declines due to the tension between responsibility and responsiveness.This analysis contributes to the debate in empirical democratic theory on how democratic and economic priorities can be reconciled. By investigating the interplay between economic stability and democratic responsiveness, the book provides insights into the complex political dynamics at play within supranational unions during economic crises

KW - Eurozone

KW - Financial bailouts

KW - sovereign debt crisis

KW - Policy conditionality

KW - Political responsiveness

KW - Democracy

KW - European Union

KW - Establishment parties

KW - Populism

U2 - 10.1093/9780198949329.001.0001

DO - 10.1093/9780198949329.001.0001

M3 - Book

SN - 9780198949299

BT - Democracy under strain - The political effects of financial bailouts on citizens and parties

PB - Oxford Univerity Press; Oxford

ER -