New Directions in Campaigns and Elections

by Medvic; Stephen K.

• ISBN13: 9780415878838
• ISBN10: 0415878837
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2011-01-06
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

The ground upon which campaigns and elections are contested has been shifting rapidly in the last decade. Radical and ongoing changes to the way elections are administered, and campaigns are financed; new approaches to polling, campaign management and advertising, and voter mobilization; and recent developments in the organization of political parties and interest groups, the operation of the media, and the behavior of voters require close examination. New Directions in Campaigns and Elections guides students through the tangle of recent developments in real-world politics drawing on the insights of innovative scholarship on these topics.More than any other aspects of American politics, campaigns and elections have been affected'”in many cases transformed'”by new communication technologies, a recurring theme throughout the volume. This tightly organized collection of original contributions raises important normative questions, grounds students' thinking in cutting edge empirical research, and balances applied politics with scholarly insights. Like other volumes in the New Directions in American Politics series, the focused exploration of the latest developments across a comprehensive range of topics makes this an ideal companion for students eager to understanding the rapidly changing political environment of the U.S. electoral process.

Author Biography

Stephen K. Medvic is associate professor of government at Franklin and Marshall College. He is the author of Political Consultants in U.S. Congressional Elections and the textbook Campaigns and Elections: Players and Processes, as well as co-editor of Shades of Gray: Perspectives on Campaign Ethics.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	p. ix
List of Tables	p. xi
Preface	p. xii
Notes on Contributors	p. xv
Election Administration: Setting the Rules of the Game	p. 1
Campaign Finance: Adapting to a Changing Regulatory Environment	p. 18
Polling: Innovations in Survey Research	p. 39
Campaign Management and Organization: The Use and Impact of Information and Communication Technology	p. 59
Campaign Advertising: Reassessing the Impact of Campaign Ads on Political Behavior	p. 79
Voter Mobilization: The Scientific Investigation of Getting the Electorate to the Polls	p. 98
Political Parties: The Tensions Between Unified Party Images and Localism	p. 115
Interest Groups: Back to Basic Questions	p. 129
Media: The Complex Interplay of Old and New Forms	p. 145
Voting Behavior: Traditional Paradigms and Contemporary Challenges	p. 163
Congressional Elections: Why Some Incumbent Candidates Lose	p. 183
Presidential Elections: Campaigning within a Segmented Electorate	p. 200
State and Local Elections: The Unique Character of Sub-National Contests	p. 221
Election Reform: What Is Expected, and What Results?	p. 238
Bibliography	p. 259
Index	p. 303
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