Conflict Mobilisation or Problem-Solving?

<p>In the aftermath of disruptive electoral and political developments such as the Brexit referendum and the election of Donald Trump six important European countries went to the polls between 2017 and 2018. This book presents the results of the Issue Competition Comparative Project (ICCP) which analysed these six elections through a focus on post-ideological <i>issue competition</i> leveraging a fresh theoretical perspective – and innovative data collection and analysis methods – emerging from <i>issue yield </i>theory.</p><p>The contributors to this volume cast a new light on electoral developments that have affected Western Europe in recent years pointing to the key distinction between <i>problem-solvers </i>(parties and leaders that leverage their technocratic competence and present a consensual win-win view of contemporary transformations) and<i> conflict mobilizers</i> (that instead invest on the mobilization of conflict emerging from these transformations) as well as to the ability of some actors to mobilize voters across traditional ideological boundaries. In this light parties commonly identified as populist simply emerge distinctively as <i>cross-ideological conflict mobilizers</i>; but mainstream parties appear vital and competitive as well when they properly identify and leverage their issue advantages. Thus the fate of democracy in Western Europe does not appear doomed to a triumph of populist appeals but rather openly depending on the ability of political parties to leverage issue opportunities that emerge from societal demands and needs.</p><p>The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of <i>West European Politics.</i></p>