PRINCETON RESEARCH IN EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL SCIENCE

RESEARCH WORKSHOP

Will Horne

PhD Candidate, Politics

Challenges in Representing Cross Pressured Voters in the UK

Over the last two decades, voting patterns in British politics have been turned on their head. Occupational class and income no longer are good predictors which party a voter will support. Under new leadership, the Labour Party has attempted to reinvigorate its traditional link to the politics of class and links to the trade union movement, in particular emphasizing social programs designed to aide those lower in the income distribution, yet support among the working and lower classes has actually dropped in this period. In this design, I explore the degree to which this can be explained by cross pressured voters, particularly lower class voters who are often socially conservative and economically leftist, placing more weight on cultural issues. I also explore whether the class background of a candidate has an impact on voters’ perceptions.

Elsa Voytas

PhD Candidate, Politics

Consequences of Political Violence: The Role of Transitional Justice

Under what conditions does participation in transitional justice shape political behavior? I argue that transitional justice policies can shape patterns of political participation by affecting an individual’s sense of injustice, trust in the state and its institutions, and perception of victimhood. This project tests this notion and further specifies the aspects of transitional justice that influence these dependent variables. The design utilizes natural and survey experiments to identify the effects of transitional justice and its varying outcomes and relies on a survey conducted in Chile with a sample of surviving victims and deceased victim family members.