Comparative international studies of election campaign communication: What should happen next?

Abstract

The article not only identifies important achievements of comparative international research of election campaign communication but also highlights their challenges. Focusing in particular on content analyses, the article finds that comparative studies examine either the messages of the news media (and here, so far, only the reporting of traditional media is considered) or the messages of the candidates (here, their social media channels are preferentially studied). The combination of both, meaning election studies that are devoted to the interplay of traditional and new channels in an international comparison, are extremely rare and should be intensified. It is encouraging that our knowledge of campaign reporting in a country-by-country comparison has increased in recent years because content analyses have increasingly concentrated on an established set of relevant reporting features – as this articles illustrates with many examples. However, more collaborative, internationally linked comparative scholarship is needed, even if the demands placed on researchers further increase as a result.

The Wrath of Candidates. Drivers of Fear and Enthusiasm Appeals in Election Campaigns across the Globe

“…Second, from a methodological standpoint, our results contribute to the growing literature on measurement challenges in comparative political communication (de Vreese, Esser, and Hopmann 2017;Esser 2019). Especially in the fields of negative campaigning and the use of emotions in campaigns, comparative research remains elusive, mostly due to the great costs associated with the study of a discursive phenomenon across space and cultures.…”

From Political Unknown to an Unwanted Incumbent: Comparing Media Coverage of the 2020 and 2016 U.S. Presidential Election Within Nondemocratic Media

“…However, despite this common set of variables, basic comparison of findings remains difficult due to studies’ operationalizing and interpreting these features differently, leading to mixed results (Esser, 2019). For instance, Nord et al (2017) compared Italian, Swedish, and United Kingdom coverage of the 2016 U.S. election and found that despite differences in media system classifications similar reporting patterns emerged.…”

“…And yet, the manner in which foreign media make sense of U.S. elections remains unclear (Van Aelst et al, 2018) with only a limited number of comparative studies and even fewer conducted outside of Western contexts (Esser, 2019; Hanusch & Vos, 2020; Van Aelst et al, 2018). Given the importance of U.S. elections as manifestations of democratic culture, especially in a time of declining support for democracy and intensifying rivalry between democracies and autocracies (Diamond et al, 2016; Freedom House, 2019; White House, 2021a, 2021b), understanding how nondemocratic nations portray U.S. elections is vital.…”

Expression Opinions About Hong Kong Protests on Facebook: A Study of the Spiral of Silence Theory in Social Media

“…This is a project in the field of communication studies, the study of the case of Hong Kong analyzed how the "Spiral of silence" theory was in social media. It is a research of a qualitative and interpretive nature that asks, more generally, how the "fourth era of political communication" (Blumier, 2016;Esser, 2019) affects formation of public opinion.…”

“…According to specialized literature, there are many ways in which digital media have affected democracies in general. The hypermediatization of society (Howard, 2006) not only transforms a series of traditional parameters of political information (Vargo et al, 2012), political representation (Coleman, Blumler, 2010;Karlsson, 2013;Ituassu et al, 2016), the public debate and the public sphere (Dahlgren, 2005;Müller, s / d), and public opinion (Esser, 2019), as it presents a variety of technological elements such as algorithms, robots, social media platforms and management software large volume of data (Howard, 2006;Semetko, Tworzecki, 2018;Ituassu et al, 2019).…”