Rodon i Casarramona, Antoni2025-01-232025-01-232014-03-04Rodon T. Do All Roads Lead to the Center? The Unresolved Dilemma of Centrist Self-Placement. Int J Public Opin Res. 2015;27(2):177-96. DOI: 10.1093/ijpor/edu0281471-6909http://hdl.handle.net/10230/69261Why do people locate themselves on the centre? Despite being the most numerous position of the left-right axis and its important role in party competition, centrist location is still a mystery. This paper groups together and investigates the hypotheses behind this crucial position and reveals the motives of centrist self-location in 21 European countries. The empirical analysis reveals a novel insight of importance to ideological self-placement: centrist self-placement is mainly a product of individuals’ voting patterns and their lack of political sophistication. Results also show that the importance of these factors varies across countries. Findings in this article have implications for our understanding of the left-right axis and its role in party competition.eng© Oxford University Press. This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in International Journal of Public Opinion Research following peer review. The version of record Rodon T. Do All Roads Lead to the Center? The Unresolved Dilemma of Centrist Self-Placement. Int J Public Opin Res. 2015;27(2):177-96 is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edu028info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edu028CentreIdeologyPolitical partiesPolitical sophisticationMaterialisminfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess