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Political Dissatisfaction and Decline of Party Identification: Societal Depoliticisation in the Republic of Cyprus (2006–2012)

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Comparing Strategies of (De)Politicisation in Europe

Abstract

Societal depoliticisation refers to disenchantment with politics at the electorate level. Societal depoliticisation, however, is studied conceptually; thus, empirical studies about its determinants or the association between societal and “conventional” depoliticisation remain largely unclear. Using party identification as an indicator of societal depoliticisation, this chapter tries to explain the decline in partisanship/party identification among Cypriots. The Republic of Cyprus is an European Union (EU) country that had the highest levels of party identification. However, the period between 2006 and 2012 saw a dramatic decline. Relying on survey data and additionally employing literature review and qualitative interviews with citizens to give meaning to the correlation found in the survey analysis, this chapter shows that political dissatisfaction played a significant part in the drop in party identification in Cyprus.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus

    Giorgos Charalambous

  2. Near East University, Nicosia, Turkey

    Direnç Kanol

Authors
  1. Giorgos Charalambous
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  2. Direnç Kanol
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Direnç Kanol .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of York, York, United Kingdom

    Jim Buller

  2. Central European University, Budapest, Hungary

    Pınar E. Dönmez

  3. Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal

    Adam Standring

  4. University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom

    Matthew Wood

Appendices

Appendix 1—Structure of Qualitative Interviews

  1. 1.

    Yπάρχει κάποιο πολιτικό κόμμα στο οποίο νιώθετε ότι είσαστε πιο κοντά σε σχέση με τα άλλα κόμματα;

    Is there a political party to which you feel closer in relation to other parties?

    If answer is no:

  2. 2.

    Προηγουμένως υπήρχε κάποιο πολιτικό κόμμα στο οποίο νιώθατε ότι ήσασταν πιο κοντά σε σχέση με τα άλλα κόμματα;

    Previously, was there a political party to which you felt closer in relation to other parties?

    If answer is yes:

  3. 3.

    Τι σας οδήγησε να σταματήσατε να έχετε κομματική ταύτιση με κάποιο κόμμα;

    What led you to stop identifying with a particular party?

  4. 4.

    Prompts and probes followed, depending on answer.

Appendix 2—Characteristic Answers Among Interviewees (When Asked About the Reasons That Led Them to Stop Feeling Close to a Party in Relation to Other Parties)

  • “I have matured and now think differently … for example, now the right-wing party is in power. People affiliated to that party find a job more easily than other people. I don’t like the way people are approached on the basis of their parties’ ties … people are not treated equally”.

  • “To be honest, everything in politics annoys me. Supposedly, everyone [all politicians] tries to cater for the good of the people but at the end everyone cares about their own pocket”.

  • “Everyone has messed up … all the politicians. Our politicians are not professional politicians”.

  • “After they [the party I used to be affiliated with] won the presidency, they did nothing out of the changes that they were intending to do … They were taking decisions based on the interests of the party or themselves. These were not good decisions for the good of the state”.

  • “They only remember people when they need their votes”.

  • “This whole situation that has unfolded has made stop feeling close to a particular party. Everyone cares about the chair. The ones are political parties generally speaking … Political parties have allowed all these criminals to destroy the banks et cetera, while they were the only ones who could prevent them from doing so … [Parties] have their own interests … Every party has its own share of responsibility for this situation”.

  • “Imprecision is at fault. For the reason that we see nothing more than words by parties, words which we have heard before … but nothing different is being done”.

  • “We don’t vote for the best but for the least worst … Everything dissatisfies me with the country’s political life, the economy being the most important thing. No party helps for this problem to be fixed”.

  • “I believe that the party I used to feel close to no longer fulfils the criteria I am pursuing … I have been disappointed with the general management of the economy and politics more generally … Everyone is to blame, parties as well as society more generally”.

  • “Many things have happened in Cyprus in the past ten years…Perhaps at the time I did not have a negative attitude … but in due course I realized that there is no orthodox way of thinking and taking decisions, and that there is no transparency and decisions are not taken with collective interests as a criterion”.

  • “The status quo we are experiencing today disappoints me … It’s all about interests and I am against interests. I am disappointed with various things … [for example] what happened with the stock exchange and the money we lost [due to the recent haircut]”.

  • “[The reason is] recent developments and the incompetence of politicians and political parties”.

  • “I have come to the conclusion that in respect to certain decisions that are taken either by parties or government, there were better choices which they did not implement … or more dynamism … they could have exhibited more dynamism … I believe that the way parties handle democracy is flawed, in respect to its main principles, such as the equal rights of citizens to secure work, or citizens’ decisions on various other issues …”.

  • “Since all parties are close to power, they should have shown interest defining [handling] certain situations … And now they argue against each other in order to serve their own interests and only their own interests … no one else’s”.

  • “I am mostly dissatisfied with the mismanagement of the economy … by MPs, presidents and all those who circulate money … everything is a lie, a fake picture, like a theatrical act”.

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Charalambous, G., Kanol, D. (2019). Political Dissatisfaction and Decline of Party Identification: Societal Depoliticisation in the Republic of Cyprus (2006–2012). In: Buller, J., Dönmez, P., Standring, A., Wood, M. (eds) Comparing Strategies of (De)Politicisation in Europe . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64236-9_5

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