Are Politics Local? Party Nationalization and Local Politics Around the World

摘要

The political maxim “all politics is local” refers to the importance of politicians focusing more time and effort in their local districts. By identifying patterns in electoral data, we aim to test this idea and explore the extent to which support for political parties is rooted in local concerns as opposed to national politics. Using the statistical analysis software Stata, we analyzed electoral data that was previously collected by Dr. Scott Morgenstern. By transcribing and graphing the data, we uncovered patterns and unusual changes in the voting trends of a country’s individual districts. We then read into their possible causes by collecting news reports from past election seasons and scholarly articles about each district. When complete, access to trends in party support in certain regions of a country will be valuable information – it could be used to campaign more effectively, guide efforts to a certain area, and give parties a better idea of where they stand in the eyes of voters and why that is the case.