ecpr2007cleavages's australia [2 articles]

Abstract

Despite growing scholarly interest in new politics, there is little direct evidence with which to assess its electoral impact. This article investigates the influence of voter attitudes towards the environment--a central element within the cluster of new politics concerns--in an election in which environmental issues featured prominently, the Australian federal election of 1990. Using data from a large sample survey, we test a number of hypotheses about the role of environmentalism in the election. We find that environmental concern significantly influenced ...

Abstract

In Australia, religion historically has been seen as a secondary but nonetheless significant sociopolitical cleavage, in part cutting across the class divide. In recent times, Australian scholars, like those elsewhere, have been inclined to argue that the political significance of religion is a legacy of the past and that religion no longer plays an important role in shaping mass political behaviour. Although class is also said to have declined in political significance, it is still treated as being of some importance ...