Sentience and salience – exploring the party politicization of animal welfare in multi-level electoral systems: Analysis of manifesto discourse in UK meso elections 1998–2017

Paul Chaney,Ian Rees Jones,Ralph Fevre

doi:10.1080/13597566.2020.1853105

Paul Chaney, Ian Rees Jones + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1080/13597566.2020.1853105

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Abstract

ABSTRACT This study explores the party politicization of animal welfare in the context of multi-level governance in the UK. It examines over 1300 pledges in party manifestos for Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish elections 1998–2017. It reveals the nature of party competition, including increasing salience over electoral cycles. This is complemented by examination of the party dynamics in two sub-fields: wildlife protection and farm animal welfare. The wider significance of this study lies in showing how the move to multi-level electoral politics provides new political spaces to advance animal welfare and how meso-ballots are increasingly attuned to the symbiosis of humans and animals. These factors are driving the territorialization of policy and leading to distinctive animal welfare regimes in the different countries of the UK. In addition, partisan theory reveals how the electoral politics of animal welfare varies between sub-fields and is shaped by parties’ relationships with different policy communities.

Highlights

Over recent decades animal welfare has become a prominent issue in many Western democracies (Hoy-Gerlach et al 2019; Lundmark et al 2014; Sunstein and Nussbaum 2006; Vogeler 2017)
We examine the electoral politics of two sub-fields – farm animal welfare and wildlife policy
We operationalize our analysis of partisan theory and animal welfare policy by examining the party politicization of the issue in the party manifestos in UK meso-elections

Summary

Introduction

Over recent decades animal welfare has become a prominent issue in many Western democracies (Hoy-Gerlach et al 2019; Lundmark et al 2014; Sunstein and Nussbaum 2006; Vogeler 2017). They span the public policy literatures on agenda-setting (Cobb and Elder 1984), issue-definition (Stone 1997) and framing (Rein and Schon 1994) Examination of these formative processes locates animal welfare policy making in the formal representational structures and processes of contemporary democracies and grounds it in a dynamic relationship between political actors, parties, civil society and government. We first take a holistic view of the electoral politics of animal welfare before engaging with partisan theory and exploring the contrasting party dynamics of two sub-fields – as set out in the following research questions:. The following analysis selects two-sub-fields where the extant literature suggests there will be contrasting party dynamics

Methodology

Conclusion

Findings

For example