Who accepts electoral clientelism? The role of personality traits in Romania

Gherghina, S. and Lutai, R. (2023) Who accepts electoral clientelism? The role of personality traits in Romania. Journal of Contemporary European Studies, (doi: 10.1080/14782804.2023.2174503) (Early Online Publication)

Abstract

Personality traits have an impact on citizens’ political participation especially in relation to voting. However, we know little about how personality traits can influence people’s attitudes towards electoral clientelism. The latter is associated with voting in many societies and has been explained so far mainly through political, social and economic determinants. This article focuses on the psychological dimension and seeks to analyze how personality traits have an effect on citizens’acceptance of electoral clientelism. It distinguishes between three forms of clientelism: vote-buying, product provision and job promises. The statistical analysis uses the Big Five framework and individual-level data from an original survey conducted in Romania after the September 2020 local elections. The results show that only a small share of voters accept electoral clientelism.Conscientiousness, Extraversion and Agreeableness drive the acceptance of different forms of clientelism under specific circumstances.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: The work was supported by the Unitatea Executiva pentru Finantarea Invatamantului Superior, a Cercetarii, Dezvoltarii si Inovarii [PN-III-P1-1.1-TE-2019-0460].
• Status: Early Online Publication
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Gherghina, Dr Sergiu
• Authors: Gherghina, S., and Lutai, R.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Politics
• Journal Name: Journal of Contemporary European Studies
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• ISSN: 1478-2804
• ISSN (Online): 1478-2790
• Published Online: 30 January 2023
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Journal of Contemporary European Studies 2023
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License