Political mobilisation and models of trade unionism:  Southern Europe in comparative perspective

Cebolla Boado, Héctor; Ortiz Gervasi, Luis

Political mobilisation and models of trade unionism: Southern Europe in comparative perspective

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Cebolla Boado, H, Ortiz Gervasi, L. Political mobilisation and models of trade unionism: Southern Europe in comparative perspective. 2011. handle: http://hdl.handle.net/2072/152114

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Abstract

The relationship between union membership and political mobilization has been studied under many perspectives, but quantitative cross-national analyses have been hampered by the absence of international comparable survey data until the first round of the European Social Survey (ESS-2002) was made available. Using different national samples from this survey in four moments of time (2002, 2004 and 2006), our paper provides evidence of cross-country divergence in the empirical association between political mobilisation and trade union membership. Cross-national differences in union members’ political mobilization, we argue, can be explained by the existence of models of unionism that in turn differ with respect to two decisive factors: the institutionalisation of trade union activity and the opportunities left-wing parties have available for gaining access to executive power.