A New Structural Basis of Dutch Voting Behaviour?

This chapter examines realignment in Dutch politics and investigates the influence of social divisions on citizens’ political choices. It explores the erosion of traditional cleavages rooted in religion and class, and the emergence of new structural foundations for political competition. It focuses on education, urbanity, gender, race/ethnicity, and age as predictors of vote choice, drawing on comparative and Dutch literature. The chapter provides a literature review on the role of these social attributes in Dutch politics and presents longitudinal data on the changing association between social attributes and vote choice. These suggest that social alignment in the Dutch context is characterized by both change and continuity. There is stability in the continued importance of religion and class, while tertiary education has gained importance as a factor structuring political behaviour, and ethnicity seemingly plays an increasing role. Overall, the chapter contributes to understanding realignment in Dutch politics and its implications for political behaviour.