FORMING ELECTORATES, FORGING SPACES - THE NAZI PARTY VOTE AND THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF SPACE

Using a social constructivist view of space, the agency of both the Na zi Party and the electorate created spatial contexts that, in turn, me diated future political activity. Spatial statistical analysis of aggr egate voting data models the diffusion of Nazi Party electoral support across space as well as the construction of regionally specific elect orates. The statistical concept of spatial dependence captures the cre ation of new spaces of power by the Nazi Party. The concept of spatial heterogeneity captures how the Nazi Party's electorate was composed o f different socioeconomic groups in different regional settings. The g rowth of the Nazi party vote in Baden between May 1924 and July 1932 i s used to exemplify the social theoretical view of space and the appli cation of spatial statistics.