Elections

Political sociological research on elections has been primarily concerned with investigating the underlying social bases of party support. Three issues are of central concern. First, there are important questions about voters, both individual voters and members of key electoral groups (in particular, classes, genders, religious traditions, and a wide range of other social groups over whom parties compete for votes). Second, political sociologists have been interested in questions about the consequence of elections: how much and to what extent do elections, as opposed to other political factors, influence police and political outcomes? Finally, the institutional context in which elections are contested varies.