Honesty Above All Else?: Expectations and Perceptions of Political Conduct in Three Established Democracies

Nicholas Allen; Sarah Birch; Katja Sarmiento-Mirwaldt

doi:10.1057/s41295-016-0084-4

Honesty Above All Else? Expectations and Perceptions of Political Conduct in Three Established Democracies

Nicholas Allen, Sarah Birch, Katja Sarmiento-Mirwaldt

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)

256 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Many citizens across the liberal democratic world are highly critical of their elected representatives’ conduct. Drawing on original survey data from Britain, France and Germany, this paper offers a unique insight into prevailing attitudes across Europe’s three largest democracies. It finds remarkable consistencies in the ethical priorities of British, French and German citizens: although there is some individual-level variation, respondents in all three countries overwhelmingly prioritise having honest representatives. It also finds differences in the types of behaviour that cause most concern in each country. The paper then examines how individuals’ preferences shape their concerns about prevailing standards. The findings are consistent with the idea that citizens’ predispositions have an ‘anchoring’ effect on perceptions of political integrity. Finally, the paper considers whether established democracies are susceptible to an ‘expectations gap’ between citizens’ expectations of conduct and what ‘normal’ politics can realistically deliver.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-24
Journal	Comparative European Politics
Early online date	16 Nov 2016
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1057/s41295-016-0084-4
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 16 Nov 2016

Keywords

-politics; corruption; misconduct; ethical attitudes; expectations

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This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1057/s41295-016-0084-4

Honesty Above All_BIRCH_Accepted 22Sept2016_GREEN AAMAccepted author manuscript, 465 KB

Cite this

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title = "Honesty Above All Else?: Expectations and Perceptions of Political Conduct in Three Established Democracies",

abstract = "Many citizens across the liberal democratic world are highly critical of their elected representatives{\textquoteright} conduct. Drawing on original survey data from Britain, France and Germany, this paper offers a unique insight into prevailing attitudes across Europe{\textquoteright}s three largest democracies. It finds remarkable consistencies in the ethical priorities of British, French and German citizens: although there is some individual-level variation, respondents in all three countries overwhelmingly prioritise having honest representatives. It also finds differences in the types of behaviour that cause most concern in each country. The paper then examines how individuals{\textquoteright} preferences shape their concerns about prevailing standards. The findings are consistent with the idea that citizens{\textquoteright} predispositions have an {\textquoteleft}anchoring{\textquoteright} effect on perceptions of political integrity. Finally, the paper considers whether established democracies are susceptible to an {\textquoteleft}expectations gap{\textquoteright} between citizens{\textquoteright} expectations of conduct and what {\textquoteleft}normal{\textquoteright} politics can realistically deliver.",

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