Aligning Future Voters: An Age-Period-Cohort Study of Issue-Based Voting in Western Europe

Voting behavior in Western Europe has become increasingly structured by issue attitudes, and the list of issues voters may consider relevant to arrive at their party choice has expanded to include cultural issues. While an extensive literature covers realignment across Western Europe, remarkably little research has focused on the role of generational differences in explaining this phenomenon. This paper answers how voters from different generations arrive at their party choice. We hypothesize that realignment is not only a period effect but also a product of the distinct socialization experience of new generations. Using an ’age-period-cohort’ (APC) framework, we study issue-based voting behavior in 17 West European party systems on six issue dimensions (wealth redistribution, social lifestyle, environmental policies, immigration, European integration, and left-right orientations) by combining data from the European Social Survey (ESS), Chapel Hill Expert Survey (CHES), and the Compartive Manifesto Project (CMP). We show that recent cohorts attach more weight to emerging as well as longstanding political issues when deciding which party to vote. Moreover, issue salience during the formative years often leaves a lasting mark on how people vote later in life.