Elections, Ethnic Parties, and Ethnic Identification in New Democracies: Evidence from the Baltic States

Does Electoral Proximity Enhance National Pride? Evidence from Monthly Surveys in a Multi‐ethnic Society – Latvia

“…His article 'The Influence of Party Competition on Minority Politics: A Comparison of Latvia and Estoniaʼ was published in the Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe. Higashijima and Nakai 2016;Michelitch 2015;Whitaker and Giersch 2015). The research presented here argues that electoral proximity has another effect as well: it fosters national pridewhich is another aspect of nationalismnot through mobilization by radical right parties, but rather, through mobilization by the more moderate governing party.…”

“…Some argue that anti-immigrant, xenophobic sentiments also tend to strengthen as elections get closer (Whitaker and Giersch 2015). The participation of powerful nationalist and ethnic minority parties means that election campaigns are an effective opportunity for increasing individuals' identification with their nation-state, for both ethnic majorities and minorities (Higashijima and Nakai 2016). A field experiment by Michelitch (2015) found that inter-partisan, but not interethnic, discrimination becomes more enhanced close to elections.…”

“…One possible political party that could enhance national pride is a radical right party; the other is the party at the head of government. Previously, scholars have tended to focus on the role of radical right parties when considering the connection between elections and ethnonational mobilization (Boone 2009;Guelke and Smyth 1992;Higashijima and Nakai 2016). Radical right parties are supported by voters who have embraced a higher level of nationalistic sentiment.…”

“…A few studies have empirically proven that electoral proximity has a significant effect on changes in collective identity such as ethnic identity, xenophobic sentiment, or (geographical) national identification (Eifert et al . ; Higashijima and Nakai ; Michelitch ; Whitaker and Giersch ). The research presented here argues that electoral proximity has another effect as well: it fosters national pride – which is another aspect of nationalism – not through mobilization by radical right parties, but rather, through mobilization by the more moderate governing party.…”

Organization and the structure of opportunities: Understanding the success of ethnic parties in postcommunist Europe

“…Although there certainly has been greater attention paid to the “success” of ethnic parties in postcommunist politics (see, for instance, Bernauer and Boeschler, 2011; Higashijima and Nakai, 2016), these have either focused only on explaining voter choice, rather than party performance per se or concentrated on regarding party entry based on assessments of success. Others such as Bilinksi (2015) have examined the success of ethnic parties, as the result of cultural legacies, but only a few studies examine ethnic party success broadly, and none have examined systematically the impact of party organization on success.…”