Measuring and Explaining the Complexity of `Left-Right' Perceptions of Political Parties

This paper examines the nature of dimensional complexity in voter perceptions of party left-right locations. Most theoretical and empirical research on electoral politics treats these locations as based on a one-dimensional ideological spectrum. We measure variation in the complexity of voters' perceptions of left-right party locations and demonstrate that this quantity varies widely. First, we generate a measurement of the complexity of perceived left-right party placements positions applied to the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES). This complexity measure, based on the fits of scaled dimensions of party placements, allows us to compare this concept across countries and regions. We then examine several possible correlates to the cross-national variation. We conclude with a comparison of this concept to issue dimensionality using data from the European Election Study (EES)