Gender attitudes and party preferences in Serbia: The role of individual authoritarianism

Todosijević, Bojan and Zafirović, Jovana and Matijević, Branka (2025) Gender attitudes and party preferences in Serbia: The role of individual authoritarianism. In: Међународна конференција Удружења за политичке науке Црне Горе под називом Democratic Resilience in Challenging Times - Insights from Political Science. Удружење за политичке науке Црне Горе (Montenegrin Political Science Association- MoPSA), Podgorica.

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Abstract

A number of recent studies indicate that sexist attitudes may exert a significant influence on political preferences and electoral behavior. Studies of recent elections in countries such as the USA and the UK show that sexist attitudes are increasingly important predictors of voting choices. This paper examines the influence of gender attitudes on political behavior and attitudes in Serbia. Serbia in the 2020s is an interesting to explore in this regard. Since the party in power (SNS) is outspokenly traditionalist and authoritarian, sexist attitudes are expected to be more prevalent among those supporting this party. At the same time, the Prime minister, occupying the position between 2017 and 2024 (currently occupying the office of President of the National Assembly of Serbia), is openly lesbian, thus possibly creating a cognitive-affective dissonance among the supporters of the ruling party and also possibly among the liberal opposition. In this context, examining how sexist attitudes relate to political preferences seems particularly interesting. The Institute of Social Sciences in Belgrade conducted a public opinion survey in Serbia in the spring of 2021, implementing the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems Module 6 questionnaire. This questionnaire includes a set of questions operationalizing sexist political attitudes, in addition to a broad set of indicators dealing with political attitudes and voting behavior. The results showed that supporters of the ruling traditionalist parties indeed demonstrate more sexist attitudes. Additional analyses showed that the individual level of authoritarianism is a factor determining both sexist attitudes and political preferences. The sexual orientation of the prime minister apparently hasn’t affected the supporters’ basic orientations.

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