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Better not to vote to restore democracy? Boycotting the 2023 national referendum as a manifestation of (anti)party identification: The case of Poles voting abroad

Magdalena Musiał-Karg & Izabela Kapsa

Parliamentary Affairs2025https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsaf001article
AJG 2ABDC B
Weight
0.41

What the paper says

Abstract This article explores the attitudes of Poles living abroad who decided not to participate in the national referendum, even though they voted in simultaneously held parliamentary elections. Their abstention is viewed as a manifestation of their (anti) party identification. The ruling right-wing populist party had hoped that raising fears about immigrants, the retirement age, and the sale of Polish assets would boost support for the referendum and—consequently—parliamentary elections. However, this strategy backfired by mobilizing the party’s opponents, who boycotted the referendum in protest. Through quantitative analysis, we explore how the 2023 referendum deepened societal divisions fueled by polarization. We investigate the connection between voters’ decisions and their party affiliations. Using data from a sample of 1087 individuals, our analysis shows significant correlations between party identification and referendum abstention. The findings suggest that strong party allegiance can drive strategic nonparticipation, often as a form of protest or civil disobedience against opposing political forces.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsaf001

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@article{magdalena2025,
  title        = {{Better not to vote to restore democracy? Boycotting the 2023 national referendum as a manifestation of (anti)party identification: The case of Poles voting abroad}},
  author       = {Magdalena Musiał-Karg & Izabela Kapsa},
  journal      = {Parliamentary Affairs},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsaf001},
}

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Better not to vote to restore democracy? Boycotting the 2023 national referendum as a manifestation of (anti)party identification: The case of Poles voting abroad

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Evidence weight

0.41

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.25 × 0.4 = 0.10
M · momentum0.55 × 0.15 = 0.08
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.