Ever seen a politician attacking his opponent?

Sure you have. 

As Donald Trump's vicious mudslinging in the recent US presidential debates so vividly demonstrates, election campaigns without attacks on rivals are almost unimaginable in the modern era.

So-called 'attack politics' makes up a substantial part of election campaigns around the world, yet it is loathed by pundits, journalists and voters. Some even fear that it risks damaging democracy itself.

Much existing research examines negative campaigning only in the US, but this unique volume, newly released in softback, presents for the first time work examining the phenomenon in the US, Europe and beyond.

Edited by Alessandro Nai and Annemarie Walter, the book offers systematic literature overviews and new work that touches upon three fundamental questions:

What is negative campaigning, and can we measure it?

What causes negative campaigning?

What are its effects?

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Paperback ISBN 9781785522369
Also available in hardback, ISBN 9781785521287

Keywords: Media, Political Competition, Political Leadership, Populism, Advertising, Campaign, Social Media, Communication, Corruption, Electoral Behaviour, Public Opinion, Voting Behaviour