The Impact of Election Outcomes on Satisfaction with Democracy under a Two-Round System

Laurie Beaudonnet , André Blais (1) , Damien Bol (1) , Martial Foucault (2)

1 UdeM - Université de Montréal
2 CEVIPOF - Centre de recherches politiques de Sciences Po (Sciences Po, CNRS)

Previous research has found a positive relationship between having voted for a party that is part of the government and satisfaction with democracy. However, no research has examined this relationship in the specific case of a two-round system. Relying on original panel data survey conducted before and after the 2012 legislative election in France, this article addresses the question of how vote choices in the first and second rounds affect satisfaction with democracy. We find that both rounds have a similar impact and that voters who rallied a winning party in the second round are as happy with the democratic process as early supporters.

Keywords: satisfaction with democracy; electoral system; two-round system; France; voting behaviour

Domains: Political science

Laurie Beaudonnet, André Blais, Damien Bol, Martial Foucault. The Impact of Election Outcomes on Satisfaction with Democracy under a Two-Round System. French Politics, 2014, 12 (1), pp.22 - 35. ⟨10.1057/fp.2014.2⟩. ⟨hal-03579826⟩