Public Perspective About Party Identification in Peshawar Valley, Pakistan

Abstract

The party identification of individuals is influenced by various factors. The two models of party identification i.e., the expressive model and the instrumental model signify the long-term and short-term socio-political factors respectively. The study hypothesizes that the long-term factors i.e., family socializing factor, peer group, and religious group affiliation significantly affect the party identification of the individuals in Peshawar valley of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province of Pakistan. The study is based on an in-person survey conducted for the Ph.D. studies from February to April 2021. A total of 1196 responses were documented out of a total of 1500 questionnaires distributed. The study investigated the public perspective based on long-term factors such as family socialization, peer group affiliation, and religious group affiliation in affecting party identification by determining the frequencies and percentages of responses using statistical tools and descriptive statistics. The correlation and the association are also investigated by applying specific statistical tools. The analysis of the public perspective regarding the role of family socializing factor, per group factor, and religious group affiliation indicate the close contiguity of the individuals with these factors and their influence on party identification behavior of the individuals in a political party system in Peshawar valley of KP province of Pakistan. The Kendall tau_b and chi-square tests of the correlations and association of the family socializing factor, peer group factor, and religious group affiliation with party identification further confirm the correlation and association of these factors with party identification, which confirm the significant influence. Keywords: Party identification, Peshawar valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Expressive party identification, Family socializing factor, peer group, religious group affiliation, Politics of Pakistan