EP Elections: Can we Say Something other than Second Order?

Abstract

The 2014 European Parliament elections brought 28 countries to the polling stations in the span of 4 days. They were also characterized by the presence of spitzenkandidaten and by the first ever debates among candidates. The panel brings together researchers that directly address the novelties of this latest election and papers that provide evidence from previous EP elections. Parties’ and candidates’ communication strategies are explored with regard to their capacity of involving and engaging a traditionally distracted electorate that tends to pay little attention to this type of elections. The role of mediated communication is particularly important in the context of EP elections as voters tend not to have a directly experience with EU level representatives. Moreover, the widespread ignorance of the European public on EU matters and institutions makes of the mass media a pivotal actor in building and spreading the idea of a Europe United in diversity.

Title	Details
Professional Campaigning in the EP Elections 2014. Comparing Political Parties in Old and New EU Member States	View Paper Details
Do Mass Media and Parties Discuss the Same Issues? An Analysis of Agenda Congruence in 27 European Countries	View Paper Details
European TV-Debates: Just Another Second Order Proof? A Mixed-methods Analysis of the Effects of TV-Debates on European and National Level	View Paper Details