External Voting: The Patterns and Drivers of Central European Migrants' Homeland Electoral Participation (Migration, Diasporas and Citizenship)

This open access book is the first monograph that brings together insights from comparative politics, political sociology, and migration studies to introduce the current state of knowledge on external voting and transnational politics. Drawing on new data gathered within the DIASPOlitic project, which created a comparative dataset of external voting results for 6 countries of origin and 17 countries of residence as well as an extensive qualitative dataset of 80 in-depth interviews with four groups of migrants, this book not only illustrates theoretical problems with empirical material, but also provides answers to previously unaddressed questions. The empirical material focuses on the European context. The Eastern Enlargement of the European Union (2004-2007) triggered a westward wave of migration from Central and Eastern European countries which faced the expansion of existing émigré communities and the emergence of new ones. As this process coincided with the expansion of migrant voting rights, the result is a large set of populous diaspora communities which can potentially have a significant impact on country electoral politics, making the study of external voting highly relevant. This book’s introduction takes stock of current research on transnational politics and external voting, presenting core puzzles. The following chapter introduces the context of intra-European migration and the political situation in Central-Eastern European sending countries. The next two sections address the empirical puzzles, drawing on new quantitative and qualitative. The conclusion takes stock of the evidence gathered, discusses the normative problem of non-resident voters enfranchisement, connects external voting to the broader debate on political remittances and finally, maps the terrain ahead for future research. This concise, empirically grounded introduction to external voting is critical reading in structuring the debate around migration and shaping research agendas for the future. Acknowledgments 6 Contents 8 About the Authors 10 List of Figures 11 Chapter 1: Introduction 12 Defining External Voting 14 Expansion of Emigrant Franchise 16 External Voting Landscape: Countries, Elections, Criteria, and Modalities 18 What Do We Know About External Voting? Migration Studies Meet Political Science 21 References 24 Chapter 2: Emigration and Transnational Political Practices in Central and Eastern Europe After EU Enlargement 2004–2007 32 East-West Migration in Europe: Political Context and Consequences 33 The DIASPOlitic Project, Data Gathering, and Methods 38 Data Gathering and Method: Quantitative Analysis of External Voting Results 39 Data Gathering and Method: Qualitative Study of Migrant Voting 41 References 44 Chapter 3: External Voting Patterns: CEE Migrants in Western Europe 48 The Political Contexts of the Countries of Origin 50 Bulgaria 51 Czechia 51 Latvia 52 Lithuania 52 Poland 53 Romania 54 Data and Methods 54 Results of the Analysis 57 Turnout Patterns and Change Over Time 57 Overall Disparity 59 Parliamentary Elections 60 Presidential Elections 61 Ideological Disparity 61 Pluralism 61 Populism 63 Economic Left-Right 64 GAL/TAN 64 LGBT Rights 65 Gender Equality 65 Equal Participation of Women 66 Reference to Religious Principles 66 Immigration 67 Cultural Superiority 67 Welfare 68 Clientelism 68 References 70 Chapter 4: Migrant Perspectives on External Voting 73 Making Sense of the Reasons Why Migrants Vote “Back Home” 77 Motivations for Voting in Country-of-Origin Elections 79 The Practical Possibility of Casting the Vote in Elections 82 Interacting Scales of Motivation for External Voting 86 Emigration, External Voting, and Political Engagement 86 Transnational Lifeworlds and Politics 87 How Does the Experience of Migration Influence Political Views? 91 Concluding Discussion 95 References 96 Chapter 5: Conclusions 101 What Have We Learned About External Voting? Discussion of Findings 104 Differences Between Diaspora Voting and “Homeland” Results 104 Ideological Differences 105 What Do We Know About Turnout? 106 Why Do Migrants Vote, or Not? 108 Legitimacy and Normative Considerations Surrounding External Voting 108 Do Migrants Desire to Be “Agents of Change”? 110 Research Frontiers and Future Knowledge Needs 113 Three Areas for Further Research: Empirical Knowledge Needs 113 Three Areas for Further Research: Normative Dimension 115 References 117 Index 122