Understanding cross-national patterns of VAA-usage: Integrating macro- and micro-level explanations

As an attempt to tackle the lack of comparative evidence on the subject matter, this chapter will provide a reassessment of both macro- and micro-level explanations based on the most recent empirical evidence from cross-national VAA research. The next section presents the major data sources employed in this chapter and outlines the macro-level conditions that seem to foster the spread of VAA-usage among the electorate. The section that follows moves from macro- to micro-level factors, with particular regard to the rise of issue voting as a way to interpret what leads voters to resort to VAAs at election time. The findings are briefly discussed in the last section along with their foremost implications for future research on VAA-usage and impact.