The 2014 European Parliament Elections in Southern Europe: Second-Order or Critical Elections?

Abstract:

The article provides a comparative analysis of the 2014 European Parliament elections across the six countries of Southern Europe by gauging the performance of the second-order election model. Both the aggregate hypotheses of this model and evidence of micro-level foundations are analysed.

The findings reveal that the political and electoral consequences of the economic crisis have not drastically challenged the second-order character of these elections in Southern Europe. However, electoral behaviour also exhibits some indications of a more critical contest.