Jag undervisar på kandidatnivå i bland annat kvantitativ metod och globalisering. Jag är också öppen för handledning på både master- och kandidatnivå, främst gällande projekt fokuserade på politiskt beteende och Central- och Östeuropa.

Min forskning rör sig inom fälten statsvetenskap och politisk sociologi, med särskild inriktning på politiskt beteende och Central- och Östeuropa. Mitt avhandlingsprojekt undersöker hur historiska institutioner påverkar dagens politiska beteende, med fokus på hur erfarenheter från autokratier formar politiskt beteende efter demokratisering, huvudsakligen med hjälp av kvantitativa metoder.

Utöver min avhandling har jag forskat kring Sverigedemokraternas framväxt, framför allt inom ramen för stad- och landpolarisering. Jag har även forskat på mellankommunal samverkan samt miljö- och energipolitik.

 

Forskningsintressen

Komparativ politik, politisk ekonomi, miljöpolitik, polarisering, kvantitativa metoder och politisk sociologi med ett speciellt intresse för historisk politisk ekonomi. 

I urval från Stockholms universitets publikationsdatabas

• Spirited away: Access to alcohol and support for the populist radical right

  2024. Zeth Isaksson. Electoral Studies 91

  Artikel

  Does the availability of alcohol influence support for radical right-wing parties, and if so, why? Drawing parallels to the UK, where pub closures led to increased support for UKIP, this study investigates similar trends observed in Sweden. Utilizing a novel dataset of over 50,000 alcohol-serving permits and electoral data from 2002 to 2018, the study finds that a reduction in permits is associated with a 3.7% increase in support for the Sweden Democrats (SD). To explain this, it is argued that bar closures politicize alcohol regulation and serve as a symbolic issue linked to the populist radical right. Survey data from over 20,000 respondents reveal that individuals in municipalities with a decreasing number of permits are more likely to support alcohol deregulation policies, and these voters become more likely to support SD. These findings underscore how perceptions of government overregulation drive support for radical right-wing parties.

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• Behind the wall: the lack of interaction between east and west and the rise of the radical right

  2024. Zeth Isaksson. Acta Politica

  Artikel

  What explains the rise of radical right-wing parties in post-socialist Europe? Previous research attributes this phenomenon to the legacies of socialism, emphasizing the macro-socialization processes in education and civil society. This study introduces a novel perspective by highlighting the significance of limited interaction with the non-socialist states, proposing that such interactions could have facilitated micro-socialization processes that counteracted the regime’s indoctrination efforts. By analyzing the effect of cross-border traffic agreements between East and West Germany, it is found that areas with increased Western contact during the socialist era exhibit significantly less support for the radical right thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Moreover, employing entropy balancing to adjust for socioeconomic differences in the totalitarian period, this research demonstrates that individuals from these areas are half as likely to support the Alternative for Germany today, compared to a reweighted control group. This research offers a novel mechanism detailing how Western interactions could challenge entrenched socialist legacies, contributing significantly to the discourse on political socialization and the dynamics of political culture in post-socialist Europe. 

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• Candidate shortages and the electoral consequences for radical right-wing parties: Insights from Sweden

  2024. Zeth Isaksson. Journal of Elections, Public Opinion, and Parties, 1-12

  Artikel

  While much research has explored factors that increase support for radical right-wing parties, the role of their local candidates has received less attention. This study contends that parties, particularly those distancing themselves from extremist elements, often struggle with a shortage of candidates, leading to both premature resignations and a lack of suitable replacements. This shortage negatively affects voter support in elections following candidate resignation. To illustrate this issue, the study utilizes a novel dataset examining the Sweden Democrats (SD), a party frequently grappling with “empty seats” in local assemblies, which are allocated seats after elections that remain unfilled or are prematurely vacated by local politicians. The analysis shows that these vacant seats reduce the party’s support by approximately 1.7 percentage points in local elections. This effect is compounded by voter turnout; when turnout is low and SD has previously failed to maintain their seats, their support decreases by as much as 10 percentage points. These findings emphasize the significant impact of a robust pool of local candidates on party performance, highlighting the critical role of local candidate representation for the electoral success of radical right-wing parties. 

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• Political expectations and electoral responses to wind farm development in Sweden

  2024. Zeth Isaksson, Simon Gren. Energy Policy 186

  Artikel

  Wind energy expansion has influenced electoral behavior by decreasing support for incumbents, primarily explained by not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) arguments. However, how does the establishment of wind farms shape electoral behavior when municipal politicians can veto such establishments? Analyzing Sweden, this study shows that voters respond not only by retrospectively evaluating past constructions but also by evaluating parties differently based on their expectations. Our results indicate that parties more likely to approve turbine constructions are punished more than those less expected to do so. Additionally, we find no evidence that the construction of wind turbines influences support for either Green or radical right-wing parties. In conclusion, this study show that the political repercussions of wind farm expansion are multifaceted, influenced by a combination of past actions, future expectations, and the ideological stances of political parties.

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• The political effects of rural school closures-Evidence from Sweden

  2023. Zeth Isaksson. Journal of Rural Studies 100

  Artikel

  In times of economic hardship, local governments often resort to school closures. These are often directed towards struggling rural communities, already experiencing substantial depopulation. The affected communities often react with fierce protests against responsible politicians. However, the political effects of school closures have mostly been overlooked in previous research. By using a novel geocoded dataset on all rural school closures in Sweden between 2013 and 2020, this study explores their political ramifications. The results show that school closures decrease the trust in municipal politicians and have negative effects on the support for the incumbent, an effect that is most pronounced for left-leaning parties. This study contributes to the literature on rural school closures and welfare retrenchments and expands previous research on social decommissioning in rural areas to include educational policies.

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