Research
Ongoing Projects
Political explanations and public opinion about European integration
Combining lab experiments, a survey experiment, and quantitative text analysis, this research analyzes the impact of political explanations on public opinion about European integration. Political actors using political explanations claim that a policy they endorse helps to achieve a desirable political goal. Political explanations are ubiquitous in debates about controversial policies, since politicians permanently rely on them to justify their policy preferences and choices. I explain the mechanisms through which political explanations affect public opinion, and I show how they interact with the expectations of citizens and the dynamic nature of party competition. This research is funded by a grant (VO 1990/1-1) of the DFG, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.)
The project focuses on the controversial debate about European integration. I use this issue as an example, but I also explain how political explanations affect politics in the European Union and its member states. The rise of Eurosceptic political parties in the context of a chain of European crises and British exit from the EU point to the vital importance of public opinion about European integration for national and European politics. Since the current strain on European governance is to some extent the result of public opposition to Europeanization, studying the capacity of elites to influence citizen views is critical for evaluating the sheer feasibility of European integration. I argue that political elites can transform public opinion about European integration, while the effectiveness of their efforts depends not only on the features of their varying audiences and the dynamic nature of party competition, but also the content and quality of the political explanations they use.
A series of twelve political-psychological experiments form the core of the project. The experiments focus on the mechanisms through which political explanations affect public opinion in conjunction with individual dispositions and the structure of party conflict. The experimental findings are complemented by the investigation of political explanations "in the real world." With the support of Dominik Vent, Lalit Chennamaneni, Tim Friedrich, and Katharina Storms, I collected data about the quality and content of the political explanations politicians use to justify European integration on the occasion of the debates about the European constitution, the crisis of the Schengen area, as well as the Greek Euro and sovereign debt crisis. The results from the lab experiment and the text analysis of politicians' justifications are complemented by a survey experiment using a sample that is representative of the German voting age population.
Political information and the dynamics of preference formation
In a joint project with Till Weber, we are conducting experimental studies about the function of political information for issue voting and the emergence of political views. The first study is concerned with the cross-pressures on voting behavior that emanate from varying constellations of party conflict over European integration in conjunction with the role of the campaign context. The second study investigates how information behavior and the quality of information affect the extent to which voters integrate new information into their voting calculus. The third and furth studies analyze the impact of variation in the politicization of an issue on the extent to which that issue informs vote choices and public opinion.
The determinants of solidarity
In a joint project with Diana Burlacu, Agni Poullikka, and Jimena Valdez, we are investigating how politicians, political parties, and interest groups explain the purpose of social policies and political engagement "in the interest of others." We try to understand how these political explanations, alongside other determinants, shape opinions about solidarity, the institutions that organize it, and the policies that demand it, as well as the forms of collective action that advance it. Our empirical focus is on political debates about the provision of health care, the protection of workers, and social investment through education. We develop the tool of automated explanation analysis to identify the political explanations that different actors use in large bodies of texts. We conduct laboratory experiments and representative survey experiments that manipulate the explanations political actors are using for different social policies and forms of collective action, using the information gathered by text analysis.
The causes and consequences of national variation in class politics
This research explains why leaders pursue different strategies for the political mobilization of interests and what lasting consequences their choices produce, using the formation of class politics in all twenty industrializing countries of the late 19th century as an example. During this time period, workers made identical demands for economic improvement and political recognition in all industrializing countries. Yet national labor movements embraced staggeringly diverse strategies to mobilize workers and advance their demands into the political arena, including different types of social democratic parties, bolshevik insurrectionism, and moderate syndicalism. I argue that the emergence of different mobilization strategies, the success of constituency mobilization, and subsequent patterns of political development depend on the ability of leaders to devise a strategy that responds effectively to the challenges of national political environments. The research shows that the adoption of different strategies has not only contributed enormously to cross-national variation in mobilization success, but also the subsequent development of democracy, party systems, and welfare states.
Acceptance of anti-pandemic measures
In a joint project with Diana Burlacu (Newcastle University), Ellen Immergut (European University Institute, Humboldt University Berlin), and Thomas Meyer (Humboldt University Berlin), we analyze the public response to anti-pandemic measures during the Corona crisis. Based on a vast array of data sources we produce and collate, including public opinion surveys, policy information, contextual factors, political texts, and experiments, we develop a comprehensive explanation for variation in support for Corona measures and the willingness to protest.
List of Publications
Monographs
Konstantin Vössing (2017) How leaders mobilize workers: social democracy, revolution, and moderate syndicalism. New York: Cambridge University Press [paperback edition published in September 2019] ---> The book was reviewed in Perspectives on Politics (by Ruth Collier) and American Journal of Sociology (by Doowon Suh)
Konstantin Vössing (n.d.) Justifying Europe. Public opinion and the rhetoric of integration [under review]
Sebastian Jobelius and Konstantin Vössing (2023) Werte und die Zukunft der sozialen Demokratie [Values and the future of social democracy]. [forthcoming]
Peer-reviewed articles
Konstantin Vössing (2021) Shaping public opinion about regional integration: the rhetoric of justification and party cues. Political Studies 69 (3): 492-513
Konstantin Vössing (2021) The quality of political information. Political Studies Review 19 (4): 574–590
Konstantin Vössing (2020) How politicians ought to talk about Europe to win hearts and minds: lessons learned from experimental evidence. In Richard Rose (ed.) How referendums challenge European Democracy. Palgrave Studies in European Union Politics. London: Palgrave Macmillan
Konstantin Vössing (2018) Politikbegründungen, Politisierung und die öffentliche Meinung zur europäischen Integration. [Policy justifications, politicization, and public opinion about European integration] In Lisa Anders, Henrik Scheller, and Thomas Tuntschew (eds.) Parteien und die Politisierung der Europäischen Union. Schriftenreihe der Sektion Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft der Deutschen Vereinigung für Politikwissenschaft (DVPW). [Political parties and the politicization of the European Union. Series of the Comparative Politics section of the DVPW]. Wiesbaden: Springer, pp. 103-130
Konstantin Vössing and Till Weber (2017) Information behavior and political preferences. British Journal of Political Science 49 (2): 533-556
Konstantin Vössing and Till Weber (2016) The company makes the feast. Party conflict and issue voting in multi-party systems. In André Blais, Jean-François Laslier, and Karine van der Straeten (eds.) Voting Experiments. New York: Springer; pp. 43-66
Konstantin Vössing (2015) Transforming public opinion about European integration: elite influence and its limits. European Union Politics 16 (2): 157-175
Konstantin Vössing (2014) Predictably exceptional. The formation of American labor politics in comparative perspective. Party Politics 20 (5): 767-777
Konstantin Vössing (2011) Social democratic party formation and national variation in labor politics. Comparative Politics 43 (2): 167-186
Konstantin Vössing (2005) Nationality and the preferences of the European public toward EU policy making. European Union Politics 6 (4): 447-469
Other publications
Sebastian Jobelius and Konstantin Vössing (2021) Die SPD auf dem Weg zur Wertepartei [The SPD and the path toward the party of values]. spw 246: 27-32
Sebastian Jobelius, Lennart Schulze, and Konstantin Vössing (2022) Wie sagt die Sozialdemokratie, was sie will_ Gruppen und Werte in der politischen Kommunikation [How does social democracy say what it wants? [Groups and values in political communication]. Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
Konstantin Vössing (2022) Value-based policy communication in European social democracy. NLG Focus Group. Foundation of Europan Progressive Studies (FEPS)
Sebastian Jobelius and Konstantin Vössing (2020) Wertebasierte politische Kommunikation. Schriftenreihe Soziale-Demokratie-Netz 1/2020
Sebastian Jobelius and Konstantin Vössing (2019) Die SPD im Wandel: Klassenpartei, Kompromisspartei, Wertepartei [The changing SPD: class party, compromise party, value party]. spw 234: 70-76
Konstantin Vössing (2018) Politikbegründungen, Politisierung und die öffentliche Meinung zur europäischen Integration [Policy justifications, politicization, and public opinion about European integration. In Lisa Anders, Henrik Scheller, and Thomas Tuntschew (eds.) Parteien und die Politisierung der Europäischen Union. Schriftenreihe der Sektion Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft der Deutschen Vereinigung für Politikwissenschaft (DVPW). [Political parties and the politicization of the European Union. Series of the Comparative Politics section of the DVPW]. Wiesbaden: Springer, pp. 103-130
Konstantin Vössing (2018) Digitalisierung verstärkt die politische Polarisierung [Digitalization reinforces political polarization]. Promedia 21: 30-32
Konstantin Vössing (2018) Digitalisierung und Politisierung [Digitalization and politicization]. Der freie Beruf: das BfB Magazin 1/2018
Konstantin Vössing (2014) Parteien und Bürger: wer folgt wem? [Political parties and citizens: who follows whom?]. Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte 64(22-23): 40-45
Konstantin Vössing (2013) Sozialdemokratie und Europäische Integration [Social democracy and European integration]. spw 199: 31-37
Konstantin Vössing (2013) Gründungsphase und Wandel in der deutschen Sozialdemokratie [Formation experience and change in German social democracy]. Forum 34 (1): 37-40
Edgar Göll and Konstantin Vössing (2000) USA 2000: And the winner is… spw 116: 41-45
Sebastian Jobelius, Reinhold Rünker, and Konstantin Vössing (1999) Einleitung [Introduction]. In Jobelius, Rünker, and Vössing (eds.) Bildungsoffensive. Herausforderungen für das 21. Jahrhundert [Education reform. Challenges for the 21st century]. Hamburg: VSA; pp. 10-15
Sebastian Jobelius and Konstantin Vössing (1999) Mut zur Kapitalbildung. Die Notwendigkeit einer kulturellen und sozialen Reform des Bildungswesens. [Have the courage to accumulate capital! The cultural and social reform of education]. In Jobelius, Rünker, and Vössing (eds.) Bildungsoffensive. Herausforderungen für das 21. Jahrhundert [Education reform. Challenges for the 21st century]. Hamburg: VSA; pp 110-127
Sebastian Jobelius, Reinhold Rünker, and Konstantin Vössing (1999) Anforderungen an eine Bildungsreform des 21. Jahrhunderts [The scope of education reform in the 21st century]. In Jobelius, Rünker, and Vössing (eds.) Bildungsoffensive. Herausforderungen für das 21. Jahrhundert [Education reform. Challenges for the 21st century]. Hamburg: VSA; 236-245
Sebastian Jobelius and Konstantin Vössing (1998) Gesellschaftliche Problemlösung durch Innovation im Bildungswesen [Social problems and innovation in education policy]. spw 102: 45-48
Edited volume
Sebastian Jobelius, Reinhold Rünker, and Konstantin Vössing (eds.) (1999) Herausforderungen für das 21. Jahrhundert [Education reform. Challenges for the 21st century]. Hamburg: VSA
Working Papers
Konstantin Vössing (n.d.) The constraining effect of the loyalty of party members on programmatic flexibility of the party
Konstantin Vössing (n.d.) Why do states become inclusive? The case of industrial workers and the causes of political concessions
Konstantin Vössing (n.d.) Inter-war regime types and the deep-seated role of worker inclusion
Konstantin Vössing and Till Weber (n.d.) Deliberative politicization and public opinion
Diana Burlacu and Konstantin Vössing (n.d.) Groups and values, perceived benefits and general impressions. Different justifications for social policy reform and how they shape public opinion
Conference Papers
Konstantin Vössing (2019) Acceptance of political explanations. General Conference of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR). Wroclaw, September 6
Konstantin Vössing (2019) Competitiveness and public opinion. Annual MPSA conference. Chicago, April 4
Konstantin Vössing (2018) Justifying Europe. Elite rhetoric and public opinion about European integration. Annual APSA conference. Boston, August 30
Konstantin Vössing (2018) The quality of political information. Paper prepared for presentation at the APSA Political Communication Pre-Conference Facts, Fiction, and Free Media: The Fourth Estate and Its Discontents. Boston, August 29
Diana Burlacu and Konstantin Vössing (2018) Social policy reform and public opinion. Eighth Annual Conference of the European Political Science Association (EPSA). Vienna, June 22
Diana Burlacu and Konstantin Vössing (2018) Elite explanations for social policy. Joint Sessions of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR). Nicosia, April 12
Diana Burlacu and Konstantin Vössing (2018) Beyond blame avoidance. Elite explanations for health care reform and their effects on public opinion. Mini-Conference on Political institutions and elite behavior: Experimental Approaches at the Annual MPSA Conference. Chicago, April 5
Konstantin Vössing (2018) Justifying Europe. Elite rhetoric and public opinion about European integration. Annual MPSA conference. Chicago, April 6
Konstantin Vössing (2017) Saying what voters want to hear about the EU? Conference “The Referendum Challenge to the European Union” Robert Schuman Center, European University Institute, Florence, January 25-26
Konstantin Vössing (2017) Talking back: policy justifications and counter-justifications. Conference “Rejected Europe, beloved Europe, cleavage Europe?”. Robert Schuman Center, European University Institute, Florence, May 18-19
Konstantin Vössing (2017) Competitiveness of political communication and support for new policies. Annual MPSA conference. Chicago, April 7
Konstantin Vössing (2016) Justifying policy choices in the shadow of political conflict: the effects of political messages and party cues on public opinion. Joint conference of DVPW, ÖGPW und SVPW. Heidelberg, September 30
Konstantin Vössing (2016) The implications of bad policy justifications for European integration. Eighth Annual Princeton Workshop on European Integration. Princeton University, May 13
Konstantin Vössing (2016) Issue-stretching and political preferences. Second Gothenburg-Barcelona Workshop on Experimental Political Science. Barcelona, May 4
Konstantin Vössing (2016) Issue-stretching. The effect of unsubstantiated political explanations on the explainer, support for the explained policy, and the democratic process. Annual MPSA conference. Chicago, April 11
Konstantin Vössing (2016) Policy justifications and public opinion. EUI Political Behavior Colloquium. Florence, March 18
Konstantin Vössing (2015) Political explanations and policy support. Annual MPSA conference. Chicago, April 17
Konstantin Vössing (2014) The effects of policy justification, party cueing, and policy reputation on policy support. Sixth Annual Princeton Workshop on European Integration. Princeton University, May 2
Konstantin Vössing (2014) Personifying the European Union: entitativity, political conflict, and attitude formation. Annual MPSA conference. Chicago, April 5
Konstantin Vössing and Till Weber (2014) Hide or seek. An experimental study about the effects of evading and acquiring information on vote choice. Voting experiments workshop. Université de Montréal, March 28-29
Konstantin Vössing (2013) Policy justifications and public opinion about European integration. New Research on Europe Workshop. Center for European Studies at Harvard University, December 4
Konstantin Vössing (2013) National variation in class politics and the success of interest mobilization. New Research on Europe Workshop. Center for European Studies at Harvard University, October 30
Konstantin Vössing (2013) The effects of policy justification, partisanship, and policy reputation on policy support. Annual MPSA conference. Chicago, April 11
Konstantin Vössing (2012) Mobilization strategies and mobilization success. The case of labor politics in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Annual MPSA conference. Chicago, April 14
Konstantin Vössing (2012) Experimentation and Comparative Politics. Conference of the Methodology Section of the DVPW [German Political Science Association]. Hamburg, February 11
Konstantin Vössing (2011) The interaction of persuasion and national identification in shaping attitudes toward European integration. Annual MPSA conference. Chicago, April 2
Konstantin Vössing (2009) The failure of American socialism as the rational response of labor elites to external constraints. Annual MPSA conference. Chicago, April 4
Konstantin Vössing (2009) American political development and labor politics in comparative perspective. Research in American Politics Workshop. Ohio State University, February 18
Konstantin Vössing (2008) External triggers and dispositions. The interaction of persuasion and national identity in shaping attitudes toward European integration. Annual APSA conference. Boston, August 28
Konstantin Vössing (2008) Constraints, knowledge diffusion, and strategic choices. A comprehensive explanation for the formation of social democratic parties. Annual MPSA conference. Chicago, April 6
Konstantin Vössing (2008) A new typology of labor politics and an explanation for social democratic party formation. Comparative Politics Research Workshop. Ohio State University, March 14
Konstantin Vössing (2007) National variation in citizen support for the emerging Euro-polity. Survey Research Award Colloquium. Ohio State University, August 27
Konstantin Vössing (2004) Nationality and the European Political Space. Comparative Politics Research Workshop. Ohio State University, June 4
Selected Grants
September 2020: Research grant (2020-465-30) from Hans-Böckler-Stiftung for research project about the determinants of solidarity, entitled “Political explanations and their impact on public opinion, political behavor, and democracy” (312.000 Euro, 367.000 USD), 09/2021 to 08/2024), Principal Investigator
April 2015: Research grant funding the development and maintenance of a web based tool for accessing, analyzing, and visualizing research data (DM-F15-08). Academic Senate, Humboldt University Berlin (30 000 Euro, 34 500 USD), co-investigator
June 2013: Humboldt-Princeton Strategic Partnership Grant for research on “Fortress Europe: how the rest of the world shapes European integration” (112 212 Euro, 149 320 USD), co-investigator
December 2012: Research grant (VO 1990/1-1) from Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG [German equivalent of the National Science Foundation] for research on “The formation of public opinion about European integration” (82 900 Euro, 110 000 USD), principal investigator
April 2012: Research grant funding the establishment and equipment with infrastructure and staff of an experimental research lab (grant DM-F12-05). Academic Senate, Humboldt University Berlin (25 000 Euro, 33 500 USD), principal investigator
March 2012: Research grant. College of arts and sciences, Humboldt University Berlin (6 000 Euro, 8 040 USD), principal investigator
October 2011: Research grant. Institute of Social Sciences, Humboldt University Berlin (6 000 Euro, 8 220 USD), principal investigator
Completed Projects
Fortress Europe. How the rest of the world shapes European integration (EUROFORT)
Together with Ellen Immergut, Sophie Meunier, and Andy Moravcsik, I was one of the co-investigators in this joint research and teaching project of Princeton University and Humboldt University about the role of the European Union in global politics and the impact of external forces on European integration. We received generous funding for our project through a Humboldt-Princeton Strategic Partnership Grant. The project brought together political scientists and researchers in related disciplines from both sides of the Atlantic to carry out collaborative research projects and innovative teaching formats.