Published 12.3.2021

Editorial on the Research Topic: Health and Political Behavior (Open Access)

Nearly ten years of intense study has established that health affects political behavior. It has become increasingly clear that “health and illness shape who we are politically” (Carpenter 2012, 303). Physical and mental health influence people’s political interest and their sense of efficacy, electoral and other forms of political participation, ideological orientations, issue preferences and vote choice, and ultimately political representation and policy responsiveness. We have also learnt a lot about the complex cognitive, psychological, financial and social mechanisms that moderate and mediate these relationships, as well as how these relationships vary across countries and welfare regimes.