Exploring the Effects of Party Policy Diffusion on Parties’ Election Strategies. IHS Political Science Series Working Paper No. 144, March 2017

Previous research suggests that political parties respond to left-right policy positions of successful foreign political parties that have recently governed (“foreign leaders”). We evaluate whether this is an effective electoral strategy: do political parties gain votes in and office after elections when they respond to successful foreign parties? We argue that following foreign leaders allows parties to better identify the position of their own (domestic) median voter position, which increases their electoral support. The analysis is based on spatial-econometric and instrumental-variable model specifications of parties’ vote shares and whether they obtained office. The results suggest that following foreign leaders is a beneficial election strategy in national elections. The findings have implications for our understanding of political representation, parties’ election strategies, and for policy diffusion.