Irish Voters Decide: Voting Behavior in Elections and Referendums Since 1918

by Richard Sinnott

This book is the first comprehensive exploration of voting behaviour in Irish elections and referendums. Interpreting a wide range of election returns, statistical data and opinion poll findings, Richard Sinnott examines to what extent and why Irish voters' preferences have changed, and asks whether the 1992 election and then change of government at the end of 1994 herald a fundamental realignment of the Irish party system.

The author analyses the changing demographic, socio-economic and political context of Irish voting behaviour and sketches historical portraits of the parties that have sought the voters' support. He includes an account of how the Irish system of proportional representation works and explains what it reveals about the attitudes and behaviour of the voter. There is a detailed analysis of voting behaviour in referendums on abortion, on divorce and on Europe, and also coverage of 'second-order elections', especially the presidential election of 1990. The author reviews interpretations of Irish electoral alignments, offers a comparative European perspective on historical and contemporary trends and concludes with an analysis of possible lines of development in Irish voting and in the Irish party system.

Genres: Politics

339 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995