Election Manifestos Research Articles

Vicious circle of peripheries: Representation of sub‐municipal units in local election manifestos in amalgamated municipalities

Vicious circle of peripheries: Representation of sub‐municipal units in local election manifestos in amalgamated municipalities

Party Competition Over Democracy: Democracy as Electoral Issue in Germany

Elected leaders increasingly undermine liberal democratic institutions with the support of their voters, openly challenging liberal democratic institutions in election campaigns. However, political scientists thus far have lacked the theoretical and empirical tools to study the role of elections in democratic backsliding. This article theorizes the degree to which democracy in general and liberal democracy more specifically can and should be conceptualized as valence and positional issues in multiparty electoral competitions of established liberal democracies. By investigating how German citizens and parties of the postwar period spoke about democracy per se and liberal democracy in their regional and national election manifestos, this article shows that democracy per se and liberal democracy, in particular, have been issues of different qualities in German postwar elections. While parties have used references to democracy in general as a mixed issue, showing both signs of valence and positional issues, parties’ emphasis on liberal democracy is shaped by a positional logic. Social and direct democracy have also been positional issues. Studying democracy and its various conceptions as electoral issues will help us address many important questions concerning the stability of democracies, shifting researchers’ focus to the competition of parties over citizens’ support for reforms that undermine or stabilize liberal democracy.

The Alternative for Germany and its school policy positions

This article analyses the school policy positions of the party Alternative for Germany (AfD). Using the federal state of Thuringia as an example, three election manifestos (2014, 2019, 2024) and one position paper are analysed through qualitative content analysis. The AfD Thuringia advocates in favour of maintaining and expanding a differentiated and structured school system, including the retention of special schools for pupils with special educational needs. Gender-appropriate language, Islamic education, and sexual education in nurseries and primary schools are rejected. The AfD Thuringia also promotes a strong focus on performance and elites within the school system. Considering various documents from the last 10 years, the AfD Thuringia has experienced a radicalisation of its school policy positions.

Mobilising youth for elections: electoral inclusion of youth in Turkey under competitive authoritarianism

Scholars have paid scant attention to how state–society relations are shaped in contexts where democratic and authoritarian institutions co-exist under new forms of authoritarianism. Furthermore, the realm of youth citizenship in such regimes is a nascent area warranting deeper exploration. This study draws on the case of Turkey to address these gaps by investigating why political parties, which previously marginalised young voters, have fervently mobilised youth during elections that paradoxically coincided with the process of autocratisation. We employ a content analysis of party programmes, election manifestos, and social media campaign content of major political parties, as well as secondary sources on Turkish and youth politics spanning from 1983 to 2023, to address this puzzle. Our analysis unveils three key findings. Firstly, transformative events such as the Gezi Park Protests and digital activism have invigorated youth political involvement, compelling both government and opposition parties to prioritise youth electoral engagement. Secondly, the shift from a parliamentary to a presidential system has heightened political parties’ focus on securing the youth vote to win elections. Lastly, political parties strive to align youth political values with their own ideologies, and the process of election campaigning provides ample opportunities for such a goal.

Assessment of the Election Manifestos of Uzbekistan Political Parties Between 2019-2024

Election manifestos are important policy documents for political parties. These documents are published before the election periods and are an important observation document for the evaluation of the promises and policies of political parties in the post-election period. In line with these documents, voters can track whether the promises made are fulfilled or not. These declarations include certain issues. Generally, these issues consist of areas where policy will be produced continuously in democratic societies. Accordingly, the election declarations prepared by the political parties of Uzbekistan for the period between 2019-2024 were examined. The discourses of each political party on the economy, judiciary, health, education and foreign policy, which are common in their election manifesto, were examined. This study aims to determine the similarities and differences in the common issues determined in the election manifestos of the political parties of Uzbekistan.

Are there populist parties in Brazil? An analysis of Election manifestos (2010-2022)

Are there populist parties in Brazil? Despite the common perception of personalistic electoral connections, the literature suggests that parties play a crucial role in legislation and voting choice. However, Brazilian parties are overlooked in populism studies. This article adds to the literature by analyzing populism in Brazilian election manifestos between 2010 and 2022. Through a man-machine content analysis application, it finds that populism is used by only a few parties, predominantly among radical left parties. The article also explores populism within mainstream parties during the 2018 elections. Despite not representing a threat to democracy due to limited influence, the existence of populist parties challenges the misconception that populism in Brazil is solely about leadership.

Party priorities in different pre-election New Zealand policy statements, 1984-2023

ABSTRACT Pre-election policy statements are important because they reveal information about parties’ policies and intended post-election priorities. Content analysis data from election manifestos, webpages, television broadcasts, and leaders’ speeches reveal clear left-right differences between the dominant Labour and National parties at elections between 1984 and 2023, with the exception of 1990. Between 1993 and 1999 and since 2011 broadcasts and speeches by National have been more right-wing on a left-right summary dimension than National’s manifestos and detailed webpages. The reverse was usually true for the right-wing Act Party, while New Zealand First’s position varied more in broadcasts and speeches than in its print programme. No real pattern for left-right topics was evident for the other parties. However, references to the environment, indigenous rights, and foreign policy were higher in long print documents than in television broadcasts and speeches. In contrast, political authority references were relatively low in print documents. When using equivalent documents, the Green and Māori parties, followed by Labour, were usually most supportive of environmental protection and socially progressive policies. The results confirm the importance of using similar documents, insofar as is possible, when making comparisons. In addition, shorter documents may be more useful for understanding parties’ main priorities.

An elephant in the room? Explaining agenda-setting in antimicrobial resistance policies in 30 European countries

Antimicrobial resistances (AMR) present a particularly challenging cross-sectoral policy problem, affecting human and animal health as well as the environment. Compared to the actual problem pressure, the public awareness for AMR is comparatively low and the issue has not been high on the political agenda in most. Given the rising problem pressure, we aim to find out as to what degree and under which conditions political parties bring AMR on the political agenda. By means of multilevel logit regressions based on 173 electoral manifestos in 30 European countries from 2015 to 2020, we explore the conditions that explain whether AMR are taken up in manifestos. The empirical findings indicate firstly that AMR are only addressed by political parties in Northern and Western Europe, in no case in Eastern, and only in one case in Southern Europe, though resistant bacteria are more widely spread in the latter. Secondly, Green parties are those who are most likely to address the AMR challenge. Thirdly, vote share is positively associated with AMR agenda-setting, while EU membership is insignificant and the national average on antibiotics consumption is negatively related to AMR agenda-setting. Finally, AMR are surprisingly mainly perceived as a problem of the agricultural policy subsystem despite its cross-sectoral policy character. The study makes theoretical and empirical contributions: regarding theory, the article shows that typical variables that are used for agenda-setting are less explanatory for complex intersectoral policies. This is also accompanied by the empirical contribution: since problem awareness and complexity of policy problems are correlated, AMR are reduced to an agricultural issue and as such, it is taken over by political parties that have expertise on agricultural-environmental topics.

Challenged by postmaterialism: left-wing parties in postcommunist Europe

ABSTRACT The article explores the evolution of left-wing voting in the postcommunist countries of Central and Eastern Europe against the background of value shifts. The main trend indicates that those societies are witnessing a gradual transition to postmaterialism. However, examining the parties’ electoral manifestos allowed the authors to conclude that the twenty-first century cannot be characterized by uniform trends: only in the case of environmentalism did the left-wing parties adapt to the changing values of their electorate, while for other indicators the situation was the opposite. The main argument of the study, supported by regression analysis is that only the appeal to green policies prevented the left-wing parties from losing out in electoral campaigns, while the references to multiculturalism and social equality had the opposite effect. Curiously enough, the verbal commitment to traditionalist values also helped the left-wingers to retain their electorate. To get a more complete picture of the voting patterns, the authors carried out an investigation into the left-wing electorate. The conclusion was that supporters of the left-wing parties are increasingly inclined toward postmaterialism. At the same time, the study showed the ineffectiveness of the left-wing political programs. This creates a gap between the left-wing parties and their electorate.

“A normal nation in our land”: Reproductive righteousness, redemptive politics and LGBTQIA+ opposition in contemporary Israel

This article examines the political rhetoric and policy pursuits of a right-wing nationalist party in Israel (‘Noam’), showcasing how opposition to gender and sexual diversity is centered within an exclusionary vision of Jewish purity. Discursive analysis of political materials show how Noam frame gender and sexual diversity as potent proof of moral decline and as contaminating forces, which can only be saved by righteous (heterosexual) saviors. From billboards and election manifestos to policy, Noam's vision of a ‘Jewish state’ is underpinned by an idea of ‘normality’ that is ethno-nationalist, heteronormative and patriarchal. Their attempts to construct threats to the ‘normal’ Jewish nuclear family help to gain broader public support and forge alliances with hegemonic political parties. Situating this particular Jewish-Israeli exclusionary logic of reproductive righteousness is part of a broader feminist study of emerging alliances within right-wing movements in an increasingly globalized identity politics of opposition to gender and sexual diversity.

Policy Diffusion Among Domestic Political Parties in Multiparty Systems: An Analysis of Election Manifestos of Indian Political Parties

Policy Diffusion Among Domestic Political Parties in Multiparty Systems: An Analysis of Election Manifestos of Indian Political Parties

Establishing veritocracy: Society, truth and science.

In the west, truth is being eroded by post-modernist ideas such as alternative facts. Once truth is no longer valued it is a short route through nationalistic populism to fascism. To combat this we need to establish the idea of 'veritocracy' as a form of government. A veritocracy is a democracy in which truth is so highly valued that promising to tell the truth will become a central feature of politicians' election manifestos feeding back the idea of veritocracy deeper into national culture. A proper understanding of the nature of science can support the idea of veritocracy. This proper understanding will not repeat the mythology of post-World War II philosophy and history of science, but will begin with the much more socially cognisant revolution in our understanding of science that began in the 1960s and 1970s. Nevertheless, a 'wave three' of science studies will justify science, not as a certainty-maker for policy, but as the way to bet in developing the best understanding of the observable world. The key is that science depends on moral truth in its attempts to develop correspondence truth. Science, like the law, should be a 'check and balance' in pluralist democracies and an object lesson in how to pursue truth in decision-making.

Losing Their Religion: Organizational Identity Hybridization of British Political Parties 1950–2015

Our research addresses how organizations manage a shift from a single to a hybrid identity, a question that the identity literature still is grappling with. We address this question by reflecting on how organizations develop hybrid identities in response to institutional decline. Identity hybridization, we predict, takes place in stages via strategies that gradually hybridize the identity. We study how British political parties hybridized their identities in response to the decline of social-class politics over the period 1950–2015. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of the identity projections of three political parties in their election manifestos provide support for our hypotheses.

When are Populist Parties Populist? A Study of Populist Sentiment in Election Manifestos of Germany’s AfD and Die Linke

ABSTRACT In recent years, interest has grown in using election manifestos to measure populism. This, however, is not without its controversies, with critics arguing that party manifestos is an unlikely case for observing populist language. This paper discusses conceptual challenges associated with measuring populism in text-based data, specifically manifestos. Based on previous research, I argue that not all parts of manifestos are equally likely to contain populist language and that variation might be based on the issue being discussed. To test this point, I present a novel dataset containing 32 hand-coded election manifestos of German populist parties AfD and Die Linke. By utilising this data, I analyse the variation in populist sentiment within these manifestos and demonstrate that issues vary in their degree of populism employed and that this is partially related to what issues are salient to populist parties.

Non-sexist language strategies in election manifestos (2023)

En aquest article, analitzem l’ús d’estratègies de llenguatge no sexista en programes electorals presentats a les eleccions generals espanyoles de juliol de 2023 per determinar com es correlacionen amb la ideologia política i fins a quin punt contribueixen a manifestar polarització ideològica. Analitzem els programes de tres partits d’esquerra (Sumar, PSOE, ERC) i tres de dreta (PP, Vox, Junts), dels quals dos són d’àmbit català (ERC, Junts). Comparem els resultats amb anàlisis prèvies de debat parlamentari. L’anàlisi quantitativa i qualitativa dels programes mostra que l’ús de marques de visibilització de les dones s’ha consolidat com un emblema de la ideologia d’esquerres, cosa que produeix un increment de freqüència d’ús, en detriment del masculí genèric. Entre els mecanismes de llenguatge no sexista, perden terreny els desdoblaments i s’incrementen col·lectius, genèrics i epicens, usats sovint de manera forçada o fins i tot incorrecta gramaticalment.

Promising links: how parties combine policy issues with group appeals

Despite growing interest in how parties use social group appeals to reach out to different groups within society, the combination of policy issues and social groups in parties’ campaign strategies remains poorly understood. Building on existing theories of issue competition, this study develops and tests new hypotheses about the relationship between policy appeals and group appeals. It proposes that the use of group appeals in policy communication depends on parties’ perceived issue competence and the public salience of the issue. It is hypothesised that parties frequently employ appeals to social groups to improve the communication about their owned issues and about issues that are important to voters. However, if their best issues lack public salience, parties will link them with appeals to related groups to increase their relevance. Conversely, when parties lack competence for salient issues, they will try to reframe these weaker issues using appeals to unrelated groups. These expectations are tested by combining new data on issue emphasis and social group appeals from election manifestos (1990–2019) with public opinion data on public issue salience and perceived party competence in Austria. The results confirm that group appeals in party communication about policy issues are shaped by issue salience and competence perceptions. These findings have key implications for our understanding of issue competition and voter representation.

Bollywood in the neoliberal era: changing discourses on multiculturalism, terrorism, and nationalism in ‘Dil Se … ’ (1998) and ‘Fanaa’ (2006)

ABSTRACT Indian nationalism has remained, for long, an important subtext to Bollywood cinema. However, whether Bollywood cinematic output could be considered as Indian national cinema has encouraged very divisive academic discourses. When Bollywood received the status of an Industry in 1998 in keeping with the promise made in the BJP 1998 electoral manifesto (Bharatiya Janata Party, 2016, p. 232–233), it appeared that the benefits of Economic Liberalisation could finally be enjoyed by the Bombay film establishment. By focusing on Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se … (1998) and Kunal Kohli’s ‘Fanaa’ (2006) this paper shall explore in detail how the nascent neoliberalism affected the discourse of Indian nationalism on the Bollywood screen through binary formation, and Othering of minorities; and how such strategies were incorporated within Hindutva style of communal identity formation in the wake of the political discourses engendered by the 2001 Parliament Attack.

Komunikasi Politik di Negeri Sarawak: Analisis Wacana Kritis Terhadap Manifesto Parti Politik dalam Pilihan Raya Negeri Sarawak 2021

An election manifesto reflects the vision of a political party in its effort to gain support from potential voters to win seats. Most political parties will produce manifestoes that promise development projects to drive the country’s economy, provide employment opportunities as well as combat abuse of power. The 2021 Sarawak State Election (SSE21) was an election that attracted the attention of state and federal observers. For the first time, the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) was contesting after the disbandment of Sarawak Barisan Nasional (BN) in 2018. In addition, it was also the first election for the new Sarawak Chief Minister, Abang Johari Openg. SSE21 was the first battleground for several Sarawak nationalist parties such as Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) and Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK). Using critical discourse analysis, this article aims to analyse the content of GPS, PSB and PBK’s manifestoes. The focus of this study is the issue of state nationalism, state development and inter-ethnic relations presented in the manifesto.

Too little, too vague: How populist parties talk about deliberation in Europe

Populist parties place the people at the centre of polity and politics. Such parties refer to direct democracy as a suitable avenue to involve people in the decision-making process but much less is known about their approaches towards deliberation. This article seeks to address this gap in the literature and analyses how populist parties talk about deliberation in their election manifestos. It tests empirically how much they speak about deliberation and whether they have a generic discourse as opposed to specific references to forms of deliberation and levels of implementation. Our qualitative content analysis draws on the election manifestos of 84 political parties from the Manifesto Project Dataset in 23 European democracies in the national elections between 1996 and 2021. The results indicate that populists talk considerably less and use vague language about the levels of implementation compared to non-populists.

Tone in politics is not systematically related to macro trends, ideology, or experience

What explains the variation in tone in politics? Different literatures argue that changes in the tone of politicians reflect changes in the economy, general language, well-being, or ideology. So far, these claims have been empirically tested only in isolation, in single country studies, or with a small subset of indicators. We offer an overarching view by modelling the use of tone in European national parliaments in 7 countries across 30 years. Using a semi-supervised sentiment-topic model to measure polarity and arousal in legislative debates, we show in a preregistered multiverse analysis that the tone in legislative debates is not systematically related to previously claimed factors. We also replicate the absence of such systematic relationships using national leader speeches and parties’ election manifestos. There is also no universal trend towards more negativity or emotionality in political language. Overall, our results highlight the importance of multi-lingual and cross-country multiverse analyses for generalizing findings on emotions in politics.