Publications

Peer Reviewed Journals

Itzkovich Malka, R. & Oshri, O . (Forthcoming). The weight on her shoulders: Marginalization of women legislators in parliaments and substantive representation of women. British Journal of Political Science.

Abstract:

Studies have widely documented that women’s descriptive representation in parliaments enhances their substantive representation. We probe this relationship under varying levels of women’s collective and individual marginality based on an original dataset documenting the parliamentary behavior of Israeli legislators over the course of 11 parliamentary terms (1977–2015). Using several measures of individual-level marginality we show that marginalized female legislators are more prone to engage in gender-related parliamentary activity than their less marginal counterparts, albeit only under a certain threshold of women’s marginality as a group. The paper elucidates the dynamic nature of the relationship between descriptive and substantive representation of disadvantaged groups by demonstrating that it is contingent on their collective standing in parliament and on the marginality of individual legislators as manifested in their strategic choices.

Oshri, O., Amsalem, E., & Shenhav, S.R. (2024). Voices from the margins: How national stories are linked with support for populist radical right parties. PLoS One.

Abstract:

Media Coverage: The Loop

How do national stories shape voter behavior? Do they affect all voters equally, or are some groups more influenced by these narratives? This article examines the impact of "boundary national stories," which highlight clear distinctions between "us" and "them" in national identity, on voting patterns for populist radical right parties (PRRPs). Using original representative election surveys conducted in four Western democracies, we find that voters who embrace a Boundary national story are more likely to vote for Populist Radical Right Parties (PRRPs) than those who do not hold such stories, and that the electoral effect of such stories is more salient for marginalized groups in society. Our findings demonstrate that, while national stories can foster cohesion, they can also drive us apart and polarize our politics. We conclude by discussing the broader implications of these findings for the study of populism in political science.

Kedar, O., Oshri, O., & Halevy, L. (2024). Party positions and the changing gender gap(s) in voting. European Union Politics

Abstract:

Media Coverage: LSE European Politics and Policy (EUROPP) blog

Why, despite increased female support, do social democratic parties (SDPs) in most Western European countries face electoral decline? To study this puzzle, we harness a well-documented regularity – diminishing support for SDPs by manual workers and their increased support for the far right. We contend that this trend is intensified in contexts where the economic positions of SDPs align with market-oriented policies or converge with those of the far right. Additionally, as men are disproportionately represented among manual workers, this shift contributes to the reversal of the gender gap in support for SDPs. Drawing on public opinion data from 18 countries spanning 46 years, along with labor and party position data, our findings substantiate this argument.

Peterburg, N. , & Oshri, O. (2024). Front and centere? Northern Irish Electoral Behaviour in the Age of Brexit. Irish Political Studies, 39(1), 79-98.

Abstract:

In post-conflict societies, traumatic experiences can have a profound effect on electoral behaviour. In Northern Ireland, Westminster elections between 2001 and 2017 were marked by the rise of hardline parties, but the 2019 election saw a significant shift towards the centre. The centre ground vote soared, resulting in the lowest level of political polarisation since the early 2000s. What are the factors underlying this transition to a moderate vote? Drawing on public opinion surveys and electoral data, we find that Brexit played a crucial role in incentivising voters to support parties prioritising non-sectarian constitutional interests. The findings suggest that voters employ party competition as a balancing mechanism. Our article contributes to the understanding of how individuals in post-conflict societies navigate the complex relationship between violence, politics, and peacebuilding.

Itzkovich Malka, R., Mor, G., Oshri, O & Shenhav, S. R.  (2023). Talking representation: How legislators re-Establish responsiveness in cases of representational deficits. European Journal of Political Research, 63(3), 850-972.

Abstract:

A close connection between public opinion and policy is considered a vital element of democracy. However, legislators cannot be responsive to all voters at all times with regard to the policies the latter favor. We argue that legislators use their speaking time in parliament to offer compensatory speech to their constituents who might oppose how they voted on a policy, in order to reestablish themselves as responsive to the public’s wishes. Leveraging the case of Brexit, we show that legislators pay more attention to constituents who might be dissatisfied with how they voted. Furthermore, their use of rhetorical responsiveness is contingent on the magnitude of the representational deficit they face vis-à-vis their constituency. Our findings attest to the central role of parliamentary speech in maintaining responsiveness. They also demonstrate that communicative responsiveness can substitute for policy responsiveness

Oshri, O, Harsgor, L, Itzkovich Malka, R., & Tuttnauer, O. (2023). Risk aversion and the gender gap in the vote for populist radical right parties. American Journal of Political Science, 67(3), 701-717. 

Abstract:

Media Coverage: Washington PostHujicast (in Hebrew)Liberal (in Hebrew)

 

Previous research has established that men are more likely to vote for populist radical right parties (PRRPs) than women. This article shows how cross-national and temporal variations in PRRPs’ electoral success interact with individuals’ risk propensity to affect this gender gap. We hypothesize that gender differences in the electoral support of PRRPs stem from disparities in risk-taking. We conceptualize risk in terms of two components, social and electoral, and demonstrate that women are more risk-averse regarding both. Our analysis is based on public opinion data from 14 countries (2002–16) combined with macrolevel data on PRRPs’ past parliamentary fortunes. To distinguish between the social and electoral components in risk-taking, we use the illustrative case study of Germany. Findings demonstrate that gender differences in risk-taking and, by implication, the differences between women’s and men’s responses to the electoral context are key to understanding the voting gender gap.

Oshri, O, Yair, O & Huddy, L. (2022). The Importance of Attachment to an Ideological Group in Multi-Party System: Evidence from Israel. Party Politics, 28(6), 1164-1175.

Abstract:

Media Coverage: LSE European Politics and Policy (EUROPP) blog The Institute for Liberty and Responsibility, the7eye

In this research, we examine the role of attachment to an ideological group as a source of stability in a volatile multi-party system. In two studies conducted in Israel (N = 1320), we show that a multi-item Attachment to an Ideological Group (AIG) scale is strongly tied to vote choice and political engagement, and its effects are independent of, and more powerful than, issue-based ideology and partisan identity strength. Compared to individuals with a weak ideological attachment, those who score highly on the AIG scale are more likely to vote for a party from their ideological camp and participate in politics. Moreover, in two survey experiments, respondents high in AIG displayed stronger anger or enthusiasm—known harbingers of political action—in response to threat or reassurance to their ideological group’s status, attesting to a link between AIG and political engagement. Our findings underscore the importance of ideological group attachments in a volatile multi-party system.

Oshri, O & Shenhav, S. R. (2018). Between continuity and change: The EU’s mechanism of differentiated value integration. European Journal of Political Research, 57(1), 217-237.

Abstract:

Media Coverage: UK Democratic Audit

How does the European Union integrate new values into the text of its treaties? A growingbody of literature indicates that, in the past three decades, new norms and values have entered the EU’sdiscourse, resulting in what is usually termed ‘normative power Europe’. Yet the research and knowledge to-date about the EU’s discursive assimilation of new values and norms is surprisingly poor.As any institutionalchange, such integration has the potential to undermine the coherence of the EU’s identity and thus also itsobjective to ‘speak with one voice’. This article explores the EU’s discursive management of the continuity-versus-change imperative by analysing the integration of new values into the text of its treaties. This issue isaddressed based on a quantitative content analysis on the full texts of European founding treaties betweenthe 1950s and 2009. Findings show that the distribution of the EU’s values in the text is not uniform: whilethe language of market economy and democracy is pervasive, the values of peace, European identity, rightsand social justice are mentioned less frequently and in restricted linguistic environments. To account forthe differences in the integration of values into the EU’s treaty discourse, the article develops the notionof a discursive mechanism of differentiated value integration (MDVI). This rationale echoes the logic ofdifferentiation in policy implementation employed by the EU.It is claimed here that,applied in the Europeandiscursive arena, MDVI allows radically different readings of the same text. This helps the EU to maintaina coherent value identity while at the same time enabling change.

Oshri, O., Sheafer, T., & Shenhav, S. R. (2016). A community of values: Democratic identity formation in the European Union. European Union Politics, 17(1), 114-137.

Abstract:

Media Coverage: European Politics and Policy (EUROPP) Blog

Has the European Union (EU) succeeded in socializing citizens to support the democratic values it claims to promote? On the face of it, the prevailing skepticism precludes any expectation of a successful socialization of EU citizens to the EU values. Yet, according to the socialization hypothesis, citizens’ support for these values is expected to increase as countries accumulate more years of the EU membership. Using survey data to isolate distinct dimensions of democratic values, we examine differences among countries in this regard, as well as changes within countries over time. Results confirm the socialization hypothesis, showing that support for democratic values is generally higher in countries with more years of the EU membership, and that this support trends upwards over time.

Shaul R S, Oshri, O., Ofek, D. , & Sheafer, T. 2014. “Story Coalitions: Applying Narrative Theory To The Study Of Coalition Formation”. Political Psychology, 35, 5, Pp. 661–678. 

Abstract:

This article explores the potential of incorporating narrative theory into the study of coalition formation. Following a discussion of the role of narratives in group-formation processes in a coalition-driven dynamic, we offer a theoretical framework to examine the ways political stories espoused by people are mirrored by the partisan system. We integrate theoretical assumptions of narrative studies with coalition-formation theories in an attempt to frame coalition-formation models in terms of voters’ political stories. We test our theoretical framework by simulating various possible coalitions in the Israeli 2009 elections and assess the results based upon data from an exit poll survey.

Peer Reviewed Chapters

Oshri, O., Kedar, O., & Hazan, N. 2020. Voting For Equality: The Gender Gap In Voting. In Gender Gaps In Israeli Politics. Tel Aviv: Van Leer Institute Press and Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing Press.

Abstract:

Israeli women hold some more hawkish issue positions compared with those of men yet they support center and left parties at higher rates than men do. We address this puzzle by examining both issue positions and the salience of these positions in determining vote choice. Drawing on INES data from the 2013 elections, we show that compared with men, women support greater role of government in the economy. We also find that the economy affects women’s vote choice more strongly than that of men. Security and foreign affairs, however, affect both groups in a similar way. Counterfactual analysis that isolates the effect of issue positions and their salience shows that differential salience rather than differences in issue positions drives most of the gender gap in vote choice. Lastly, we reflect on and offer an account of the differences.

Oshri, O., Harsgor, L., & Malka-Itzkovich, R. 2020. Politics Of Recognition And Redistribution: The Effect Of Feminist Consciousness On Vote Choice. In Gender Gaps In Israeli Politics, Pp. 87-114. Tel Aviv: Van Leer Institute Press and Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing Press

Abstract:

In the study "Between Dignity and Exploitation: Hierarchies of Immigrant Workers in the Israeli Care Work Industry" by Rosenhek (2013), it is argued that even within frameworks that aim to protect workers from exploitation, there is an inherent hierarchy. In this hierarchy, Filipino care workers in Israel, who were selected as a group particularly vulnerable to exploitation, still hold a position of superiority over other immigrant workers. In contrast, among these other groups, African asylum seekers are often employed without official work permits.

In this context, it was found that even within a framework aimed at protection, certain groups of workers—particularly those with legal status—are still treated better than those without legal status. The conclusion drawn from this is that protection frameworks, even with the best of intentions, can reinforce hierarchies among immigrant workers instead of eliminating them.

This finding supports previous studies that highlight similar dynamics, where legal status often determines the degree of exploitation and rights protection available to workers (e.g., Perez, 2013). Additionally, it emphasizes that in Israel, immigrant groups with legal work permits tend to fare better than those without, particularly when they are employed in the care industry.