| OCR Text |
Show 41 environmental protection would necessitate cuts in material welfare, be it through the introduction of higher taxes or higher prices or through the reduction of employment opportunities" (Cordier 1996, 494). This tradeoff makes the party platform, how "dark green" the party is, and any strategic assurances offered by environmental niche parties, like promising not to raise taxes too high or not to significantly cut welfare programs, especially important to voters. In other words, environmental niche parties have to pay particular attention to economic conditions when planning their election strategy. It could be counterproductive, for example, to sacrifice jobs when the country is already experiencing high levels of unemployment. On the other hand, the "greening" of the economy, as a way to generate economic growth or create jobs, could be appealing during downturns (Deichmann and Zhang 2013; Gill and Raiser 2012; International Labor Office 2012). This fits with my strategic interaction model; the context, in this case economic conditions, shapes the strategies of parties. The "Big" Niche Issues As mentioned in Chapter I, niche parties are parties that focus on a "big" core issue or cluster of related issues. For the two types of niche parties included in this project, MCCP and environmental, the "big" issues are the levels of minority presence (immigrants and ethnic minorities) in a state, based on population and social composition, and environmental conditions. These factors can affect how appealing voters find a party, and the ability of a party to mobilize support (Dalton 2006; Golder 2003). Other critical, albeit related, aspects for this explanatory category are interaction terms, and a debate over whether it is the actual environmental conditions and minority levels or |
