{"id":195538,"date":"2026-01-22T10:09:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T09:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=195538"},"modified":"2026-01-22T13:44:32","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T12:44:32","slug":"waarom-rationele-kiezers-op-populisten-stemmen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2026\/01\/22\/waarom-rationele-kiezers-op-populisten-stemmen\/","title":{"rendered":"Voters do make rational choices when they vote for populists, discovered Otto Swank"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-intro-font-size\">Trump voters would not be rational. Otto Swank did not believe it for a second. His search for a better explanation led to a mathematical model that reveals how even rational choices can result in unexpected election outcomes and the rise of contemporary populists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1067\" src=\"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/eureka_wetenschappers_otto-swank_eur_jan2026_full_pien-duthmann-1600x1067.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-195540\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/eureka_wetenschappers_otto-swank_eur_jan2026_full_pien-duthmann-1600x1067.jpg?image-crop-positioner-ts=1768996047 1600w, https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/eureka_wetenschappers_otto-swank_eur_jan2026_full_pien-duthmann-875x583.jpg?image-crop-positioner-ts=1768996047 875w, https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/eureka_wetenschappers_otto-swank_eur_jan2026_full_pien-duthmann-300x200.jpg?image-crop-positioner-ts=1768996047 300w, https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/eureka_wetenschappers_otto-swank_eur_jan2026_full_pien-duthmann-1280x854.jpg?image-crop-positioner-ts=1768996047 1280w, https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/eureka_wetenschappers_otto-swank_eur_jan2026_full_pien-duthmann-1536x1024.jpg?image-crop-positioner-ts=1768996047 1536w, https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/eureka_wetenschappers_otto-swank_eur_jan2026_full_pien-duthmann-2048x1366.jpg?image-crop-positioner-ts=1768996047 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><p data-component=\"image-credits\" class=\"flex flex-wrap gap-2 items-center text-base\">\n\t<span aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n<path d=\"M19.5 5.25H16.9012L15.6234 3.33375C15.555 3.23114 15.4623 3.147 15.3535 3.08879C15.2448 3.03057 15.1233 3.00007 15 3H9C8.87665 3.00007 8.75522 3.03057 8.64648 3.08879C8.53773 3.147 8.44502 3.23114 8.37656 3.33375L7.09781 5.25H4.5C3.90326 5.25 3.33097 5.48705 2.90901 5.90901C2.48705 6.33097 2.25 6.90326 2.25 7.5V18C2.25 18.5967 2.48705 19.169 2.90901 19.591C3.33097 20.0129 3.90326 20.25 4.5 20.25H19.5C20.0967 20.25 20.669 20.0129 21.091 19.591C21.5129 19.169 21.75 18.5967 21.75 18V7.5C21.75 6.90326 21.5129 6.33097 21.091 5.90901C20.669 5.48705 20.0967 5.25 19.5 5.25ZM15.375 12.375C15.375 13.0425 15.1771 13.695 14.8062 14.25C14.4354 14.8051 13.9083 15.2376 13.2916 15.4931C12.6749 15.7485 11.9963 15.8154 11.3416 15.6852C10.6869 15.5549 10.0855 15.2335 9.61351 14.7615C9.14151 14.2895 8.82007 13.6881 8.68985 13.0334C8.55962 12.3787 8.62646 11.7001 8.88191 11.0834C9.13735 10.4667 9.56993 9.93964 10.125 9.56879C10.68 9.19794 11.3325 9 12 9C12.8951 9 13.7535 9.35558 14.3865 9.98851C15.0194 10.6214 15.375 11.4799 15.375 12.375Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\t<span class=\"sr-only\">Image by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t<span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/persons\/pien-duthmann\/\" class=\"underline hocus:no-underline decoration-1 underline-offset-2\">Pien D\u00fcthmann<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\t<div data-name=\"acf\/featured-text\" class=\"md:mt-6 p-4 md:p-6 lg:p-8 bg-sand-300 theme-sand:bg-white theme-violet:bg-white theme-mocha:bg-white wysiwyg *:last:mb-0!\" >\n\t\t<p><strong>Eureka!<\/strong> Every scientist contributes a small amount to the sea of knowledge that humanity already possesses. It always starts with wonder, followed by research, discovery and results. In this series, scientists talk about their eureka moments.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The wonder<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWith every election result, I was glued to the television as a child. I come from a CDA family, but my three older brothers thought very differently. There was a lot of talk about politics at home. That could be quite tense, those conversations sometimes ran high. And I already liked numbers back then. So that whole business of polls, voting, results and shifting seats immediately appealed to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI have an enormous inner drive to understand how decisions within a democracy work. That became the thread in my research as a political economist. That fascination with voter behaviour was strongly rekindled during Trump\u2019s first election. I heard economists saying that voters were crazy, and that really made me angry. It seemed highly unlikely to me that people would suddenly lose their minds en masse. There had to be a better explanation for why voters do what they do. That was the moment I dived back into voter behaviour.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t<div data-name=\"acf\/quote\" class=\"align\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"\">\n\t\t\t<figure data-component=\"quote-with-author\" class=\"@container\">\n\t<blockquote class=\"text-md italic @2xl:text-xl @4xl:text-2xl text-purple\">\n\t\t&#039;I have an enormous inner drive to understand how decisions within a democracy work&#039;\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The research<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMainstream economic models then start from two things: what does someone want and what can someone do? That translates well to political behaviour. The first concerns someone\u2019s preferences, and the second in this case concerns the information someone has, and whether it is correct or not. Together with Dana Sisak and Benoit Crutzen, I translated that into mathematical formulas, which we then combined in a model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn the model, we looked at two groups of voters: a small, well-informed group that knows what is in its interest, and a much larger group that only partially knows this. What is crucial is that the probability of receiving the right signal about what is good or bad for you differs between those groups. Suppose that part of that large group receives the wrong signal, so information that does not correspond with their interest, then they will vote for something that is actually not in their own interest. In this way, policies that are in fact beneficial to the elite, for example, can still receive a majority of the votes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1067\" src=\"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/eureka_wetenschappers_otto-swank_eur_jan2026_detail1_pien-duthmann-1600x1067.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-195542\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/eureka_wetenschappers_otto-swank_eur_jan2026_detail1_pien-duthmann-1600x1067.jpg?image-crop-positioner-ts=1768996138 1600w, https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/eureka_wetenschappers_otto-swank_eur_jan2026_detail1_pien-duthmann-875x583.jpg?image-crop-positioner-ts=1768996138 875w, https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/eureka_wetenschappers_otto-swank_eur_jan2026_detail1_pien-duthmann-300x200.jpg?image-crop-positioner-ts=1768996138 300w, https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/eureka_wetenschappers_otto-swank_eur_jan2026_detail1_pien-duthmann-1280x854.jpg?image-crop-positioner-ts=1768996138 1280w, https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/eureka_wetenschappers_otto-swank_eur_jan2026_detail1_pien-duthmann-1536x1024.jpg?image-crop-positioner-ts=1768996138 1536w, https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/eureka_wetenschappers_otto-swank_eur_jan2026_detail1_pien-duthmann-2048x1366.jpg?image-crop-positioner-ts=1768996138 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><p data-component=\"image-credits\" class=\"flex flex-wrap gap-2 items-center text-base\">\n\t<span aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n<path d=\"M19.5 5.25H16.9012L15.6234 3.33375C15.555 3.23114 15.4623 3.147 15.3535 3.08879C15.2448 3.03057 15.1233 3.00007 15 3H9C8.87665 3.00007 8.75522 3.03057 8.64648 3.08879C8.53773 3.147 8.44502 3.23114 8.37656 3.33375L7.09781 5.25H4.5C3.90326 5.25 3.33097 5.48705 2.90901 5.90901C2.48705 6.33097 2.25 6.90326 2.25 7.5V18C2.25 18.5967 2.48705 19.169 2.90901 19.591C3.33097 20.0129 3.90326 20.25 4.5 20.25H19.5C20.0967 20.25 20.669 20.0129 21.091 19.591C21.5129 19.169 21.75 18.5967 21.75 18V7.5C21.75 6.90326 21.5129 6.33097 21.091 5.90901C20.669 5.48705 20.0967 5.25 19.5 5.25ZM15.375 12.375C15.375 13.0425 15.1771 13.695 14.8062 14.25C14.4354 14.8051 13.9083 15.2376 13.2916 15.4931C12.6749 15.7485 11.9963 15.8154 11.3416 15.6852C10.6869 15.5549 10.0855 15.2335 9.61351 14.7615C9.14151 14.2895 8.82007 13.6881 8.68985 13.0334C8.55962 12.3787 8.62646 11.7001 8.88191 11.0834C9.13735 10.4667 9.56993 9.93964 10.125 9.56879C10.68 9.19794 11.3325 9 12 9C12.8951 9 13.7535 9.35558 14.3865 9.98851C15.0194 10.6214 15.375 11.4799 15.375 12.375Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\t<span class=\"sr-only\">Image by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t<span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/persons\/pien-duthmann\/\" class=\"underline hocus:no-underline decoration-1 underline-offset-2\">Pien D\u00fcthmann<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The eureka moment<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCalculating those votes was not even that complicated. But explaining why populists are gaining ground precisely now, that was difficult. Our model shows that this mechanism mainly plays a role with complex issues, such as globalisation, migration, economic insecurity. On these topics, less well-informed majority groups are less likely to receive the right signal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn recent years, there have therefore been election outcomes that served the interests of the elite. And that is precisely what creates space for populist politicians. It is difficult for traditional political parties to break with this, because they would then also have to attack the elite and policies they themselves have helped to create. Our model shows that it is precisely easier for political outsiders to successfully appeal to that group with more uncertainty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cDuring the research, I have the mathematics in my head, but getting it out is sometimes difficult. When the mathematics falls into place and aligns with the explanation of voter behaviour, and I realise that the model will become a paper, then adrenaline and other pleasant substances are released.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1067\" src=\"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/eureka_wetenschappers_otto-swank_eur_jan2026_detail2_pien-duthmann-1600x1067.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-195543\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/eureka_wetenschappers_otto-swank_eur_jan2026_detail2_pien-duthmann-1600x1067.jpg?image-crop-positioner-ts=1768996151 1600w, https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/eureka_wetenschappers_otto-swank_eur_jan2026_detail2_pien-duthmann-875x583.jpg?image-crop-positioner-ts=1768996151 875w, https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/eureka_wetenschappers_otto-swank_eur_jan2026_detail2_pien-duthmann-300x200.jpg?image-crop-positioner-ts=1768996151 300w, https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/eureka_wetenschappers_otto-swank_eur_jan2026_detail2_pien-duthmann-1280x854.jpg?image-crop-positioner-ts=1768996151 1280w, https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/eureka_wetenschappers_otto-swank_eur_jan2026_detail2_pien-duthmann-1536x1024.jpg?image-crop-positioner-ts=1768996151 1536w, https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/eureka_wetenschappers_otto-swank_eur_jan2026_detail2_pien-duthmann-2048x1366.jpg?image-crop-positioner-ts=1768996151 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><p data-component=\"image-credits\" class=\"flex flex-wrap gap-2 items-center text-base\">\n\t<span aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n<path d=\"M19.5 5.25H16.9012L15.6234 3.33375C15.555 3.23114 15.4623 3.147 15.3535 3.08879C15.2448 3.03057 15.1233 3.00007 15 3H9C8.87665 3.00007 8.75522 3.03057 8.64648 3.08879C8.53773 3.147 8.44502 3.23114 8.37656 3.33375L7.09781 5.25H4.5C3.90326 5.25 3.33097 5.48705 2.90901 5.90901C2.48705 6.33097 2.25 6.90326 2.25 7.5V18C2.25 18.5967 2.48705 19.169 2.90901 19.591C3.33097 20.0129 3.90326 20.25 4.5 20.25H19.5C20.0967 20.25 20.669 20.0129 21.091 19.591C21.5129 19.169 21.75 18.5967 21.75 18V7.5C21.75 6.90326 21.5129 6.33097 21.091 5.90901C20.669 5.48705 20.0967 5.25 19.5 5.25ZM15.375 12.375C15.375 13.0425 15.1771 13.695 14.8062 14.25C14.4354 14.8051 13.9083 15.2376 13.2916 15.4931C12.6749 15.7485 11.9963 15.8154 11.3416 15.6852C10.6869 15.5549 10.0855 15.2335 9.61351 14.7615C9.14151 14.2895 8.82007 13.6881 8.68985 13.0334C8.55962 12.3787 8.62646 11.7001 8.88191 11.0834C9.13735 10.4667 9.56993 9.93964 10.125 9.56879C10.68 9.19794 11.3325 9 12 9C12.8951 9 13.7535 9.35558 14.3865 9.98851C15.0194 10.6214 15.375 11.4799 15.375 12.375Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\t<span class=\"sr-only\">Image by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t<span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/persons\/pien-duthmann\/\" class=\"underline hocus:no-underline decoration-1 underline-offset-2\">Pien D\u00fcthmann<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The aftermath<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe paper turned out to be quite controversial. One of the referees, a political scientist, even refused at a certain point to continue reviewing. That our model provided a rational explanation for why people vote for someone like Trump apparently went so strongly against his moral compass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t<div data-name=\"acf\/quote\" class=\"align\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"\">\n\t\t\t<figure data-component=\"quote-with-author\" class=\"@container\">\n\t<blockquote class=\"text-md italic @2xl:text-xl @4xl:text-2xl text-purple\">\n\t\t&#039;I have come to realise that there is a large group of people for whom globalisation or migration is by no means self-evidently beneficial&#039;\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy own perspective has also shifted. For me and my colleagues, globalisation is mainly pleasant: more good food, more diversity, cheap cleaners. I have come to realise that there is a large group of people for whom globalisation or migration is by no means self-evidently beneficial, for example because of more competition from cheap labour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAt the London School of Economics, someone even teaches a class about the paper and calls it \u2018the best explanation of populism\u2019 he knows. That really is a compliment. I myself continue to develop the model. My follow-up research is about why migration is such a divisive issue. I look at how groups learn from each other what \u2018acceptable\u2019 voting behaviour is. Think of how in Germany after the war there was a strong norm against parties with xenophobia, and how that norm has nevertheless started to shift in the past ten years. I am trying to understand how such norms arise locally, how they spread, and how that becomes visible in voting behaviour.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<div data-name=\"acf\/featured-text\" class=\"md:mt-6 p-4 md:p-6 lg:p-8 bg-sand-300 theme-sand:bg-white theme-violet:bg-white theme-mocha:bg-white wysiwyg *:last:mb-0!\" >\n\t\t<p><strong>Otto Swank<\/strong> is professor of Political Economy at the Erasmus School of Economics and researches how information, uncertainty and institutions shape voter behaviour and policy choices. In his research, he connects economic game theory with current political questions, ranging from the rise of populism to the consequences of globalisation<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump voters would not be rational. Otto Swank did not believe it for a second. His search for a better explanation led to a mathematical model that reveals how even rational choices can result in unexpected election outcomes and the rise of contemporary populists. The wonder \u201cWith every election result, I was glued to the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":311,"featured_media":195540,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_trash_the_other_posts":false,"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[24205],"em_content_type":[24779],"class_list":["post-195538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-eureka","em_content_type-rubriek"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Voters do make rational choices when they vote for populists, discovered Otto Swank<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Trump voters would not be rational. Otto Swank did not believe it for a second. His search for a better explanation led to a mathematical model that reveals how even rational choices can result in unexpected election outcomes and the rise of contemporary populists.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2026\/01\/22\/waarom-rationele-kiezers-op-populisten-stemmen\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Voters do make rational choices when they vote for populists, discovered Otto Swank\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Trump voters would not be rational. Otto Swank did not believe it for a second. 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