Who Cares about the Culture War? Evidence from a Vote Choice Conjoint Experiment

• In Event: The Causes and Consequences of Polarized Politics

Abstract

Despite their prominence, there is no agreed upon definition of what a culture war issue is and it is unclear how electorally important new topics (such as statues, LGBT+ representation in popular culture and university free speech) are. To address this, I create a concise and specific definition of a culture war issue which can be used consistently in different research contexts. I then conduct an original vote choice conjoint experiment in the United Kingdom to see the extent people base their vote on new culture war issues relative to long-standing issues. Culture war issues are consistently important for those with more conservative (‘orthodox’) cultural beliefs, whilst those with right-traditionalist and, to a lesser extent, left-traditionalist values prioritize them when cross-pressured. These results highlight the political dynamics of contemporary culture wars and vote choice in multi-dimensional elections, as well as the value of studying political beliefs relative to each other.

Author

• James Breckwoldt, University of Manchester