Does partisan dealignment weaken political parties by increasing MPs' incentives for personal vote seeking? This article tests that argument.
New Zealand Natural Experiment:
Analyzes parliamentary activity from 1984-2017. Despite increased dealignment, data shows active MPs gained more popularity.
UK Survey Experiment:
Explores the voter behavior mechanism. Results reveal voters with weak party ties respond strongly to MP activity.
Implications:
These findings suggest partisan dealignment actually enhances personal vote-seeking incentives by making individual performance matter more to certain voters.
