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Macarena Ares

Macarena Ares

NIAS Theme Group fellow

Project title

You win some, you lose some: building policy compromise in polarized democracies

Project description

How has European politics undergone transformation, particularly in relation to elections, political parties, and representation? Given the fundamental challenges faced by European democracies, such as climate change, immigration, and digitalization, it is crucial to seek solutions to these issues. This NIAS Theme Group focuses on exploring the dynamics of progressive politics within European democracies.

As a member of the theme group, Macarena Ares aims to advance our understanding of when citizens are willing to support political and policy compromise. Her approach considers individual and contextual explanations of support for compromise, with a special focus on the role of political parties in politicizing negotiations and concessions. An encompassing understanding of when citizens will support policy concessions and pacts is crucial in a context of high party fragmentation and polarisation.

Selected publications

Intergenerational social mobility, political socialization, and support for the left under post-industrial realignment. In the British Journal of Political Science (2023), 53(2). With M. van Ditmars.

Issue politicization and social class: how the electoral supply activates class divides in political preferences. In the European Journal of Political Research (2022), 61 (2).

Changing classes, changing preferences: how social class mobility affects economic preferences. In West European Politics (2020), 43(6).