APPROACHES TO MODELING ELECTORAL BEHAVIOR

Abstract

Formulation of the problem. Rapid political changes and the transformation of social relations are actualizing the study of electoral behavior, the factors that determine it, and the technologies of influence on decision-making by voters. Analysis of recent research and publications. The study is based on the analysis of the theories of electoral behavior of B. Berelson, H. Gode, P. Lazarsfeld, S. Lipset, V. McPhee, S. Rokkan, and others. The theoretical base of the article consists of the socio-psychological theory of choice by E. Campbell, V. Miller, D. Stokes, F. Converse, etc. Based on the research of D. Buchanan, E. Downs, G. Tulloch, and M. Fiorina, the foundations of a rational approach to decision-making by voters have been laid. Domestic features of electoral behavior, the study of political participation, political parties, elections and electoral systems in Ukraine were studied by R. Balaban, O. Vyshniak, V. Karasyov, I. Kononov, S. Ryabov, O. Sushko, V. Shapoval, O. Yaremenko etc. The purpose of the article is to identify modern models of electoral behavior and the possibilities of their application in domestic political science. Presenting main material. The article analyzes the meaning of the concept of "electoral behavior", modern approaches to its interpretation, the classification of electoral models according to various characteristics, the principles of democratic elections and the effectiveness of electoral technologies in modern Ukraine. It is proposed to classify electoral behavior according to various signs and criteria based on the experience of modern Ukraine. Conclusions. In the results, three main theoretical directions of the study of electoral behavior of voters are formulated – sociological, socio-psychological and rational. It has been found that new approaches to the analysis and systematic explanation of the dynamics of the structure of electoral attitudes, forecasting the behavior of the electorate, and the disclosure of voter influence technologies have a disparate nature and an insufficient empirical basis. The necessity of carrying out interdisciplinary research on the problems of electoral behavior, creating a general theory that could generalize already existing knowledge on this issue and become a basis for synthesis, integration of new knowledge can contribute to solving the problem of revealing the dynamic internal mechanisms of electoral behavior and the possibilities of its forecasting.