Non-Party Actors in Electoral Politics : The Role of Interest Groups and Independent Citizens in Contemporary Election Campaigns

by Farrell, David M.

• ISBN13: 9783832932510
• ISBN10: 3832932518
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-03-04
• Publisher: Intl Specialized Book Service Inc

Summary

The contemporary electoral process is, in many ways, far more complex than it used to be. This book focuses on the growing involvement of non-party actors in the process of selecting candidates, as well as involvement during the campaign itself. These actors - interest groups, individual citizens, even certain political institutions - operate in the campaign environment independently of the parties and their candidates. They are not seeking to attain public office, nevertheless they interfere in the electoral process in growing numbers and with increasing intensity. For the most part, they seek to influence electoral outcomes to their advantage, and yet on occasions for less selfish reasons such as increasing the quality of the electoral process itself. Encompassing a broad range of countries - including several old democracies (the US, Germany, Britain, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Israel, and others) and one new democracy (Romania) - and combining extensive surveys with detailed case studies of recent elections, the chapters in this volume take stock of this new feature in the contemporary electoral process, along with its origins, forms, and consequences.

Table of Contents

List of Tables	p. 9
List of Figures	p. 12
Introduction: The Age of Non-Party Actors?	p. 13
Entering through the Back Door: Non-Party Actors in Intra-Party (S)electoral Politics	p. 25
Interest Group Activity in U.S. Elections	p. 45
Between Electioneering and "Politics as Usual": The Involvement of Interest Groups in Norwegian Electoral Politics	p. 67
Non-Party Activity in the 2005 U.K. General Election: "Promoting or Procuring Electoral Success"?	p. 103
Competing for Attention: Interest Groups in the News in a Danish Election	p. 127
Divided We March, Divided We Fight: Trade Unions, Social Democrats, and Voters in the 2005 German General Election	p. 151
Towards what Reign of Civil Society? Understanding NGOs in Romanian Electoral Politics	p. 183
1000 Mini Election Campaigns: The Utilization of Private Weblogs in the Run-lip to the 2005 German Election	p. 209
Vote Advice Applications as New Campaign Players? The Electoral Effects of the "Do the Vote Test" during the 2004 Regional Elections in Belgium	p. 237
Preaching to the Converted or Making a Difference? Mobilizing Effects of an Internet Application at the German General Election 2005	p. 259
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