This paper investigates cross-national and temporal variation in the relationship between individuals? ideological self-placement and their preferences for redistribution. The analysis draws on European Social Survey data covering 31 European countries, between 2002 and 2023. Consistent with previous research, the findings show that left-leaning individuals show higher demand for redistribution. The strength of this association varies substantially across regions: is notably stronger in Northern and Western Europe, while considerably weaker in the postcommunist countries of Central and Eastern Europe, and largely insignificant in in the Western Balkans countries. This pattern supports the view that redistribution is less politically salient in post-socialist contexts, a conclusion reinforced by lower variation and polarization in redistribution preferences in these countries. The analysis also reveals that expansive government interventions during COVID 19 pandemic coincided with decline in demand for redistribution and widening of the ideological divide on the issue. These findings suggest that short-term crisis responses may have lasting implications for the ideological polarization of redistribution preferences.
Marko Vladisavljević (Wed,) studied this question.