Election Agendas – Agenda-Setting Electoral Politics

Abstract

This panel focuses on the setting of, the agendas and the agenda-setting function of electoral politics. Elections and in particular partisan transitions mark one of the most important opportunities for political parties to set a distinct policy agenda. However, how parties’ agendas are set and the real effect of parties on issue attention once in government remains ambiguous. The goals of parties stated in manifestos, electoral campaigns, media appearances and elsewhere are often considered exogenous or at least only as independent variables in much of our research. In reality the content of party agendas is a process based on electoral success, responsiveness to the public or party members and to the state of the world such as major events or economic conditions. By considering partisan agendas of all types as fluid and responsive to outside factors a much better understanding of political parties, electoral campaigns and government agendas can be gained. Papers in this panel address a variety or questions on party and/or electoral agendas from the building of party agendas in manifestos, to the conditioning effects of the economy on electoral campaigns, to the effects that elections and the threat of electoral turnover have on party agendas once in government and beyond. All work towards understanding the ambiguity in the issue content of partisan agendas, giving the discipline a more definitive understanding of electoral and partisan politics.

Title	Details
The Impact of Electoral Competition on Rhetorical Responsiveness	View Paper Details
Is it the Economy? How Economic Context and Government Participation Condition the Effect of Party Campaign Messages	View Paper Details
Elections, Partisan Alternation and Policy Change in Denmark, France, Spain and the United Kingdom	View Paper Details