Page 236 - Comparing Political Communication Theories, Cases, and Challenge

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Christina Holtz-Bacha

at that time a campaign manager, made the profession the subject of his
book The Rise of Political Consultants.
The growing interest of scientific research in the way electoral
campaigns are planned and conducted is a consequence of their
professionalization, which is also expressed in the increasing importance
of consultants. Professionalization in the sense of shifting the organiza-
tion of campaigns from the inner circle of the political system to external
marketing experts is a consequence of distinctive developments in so-
ciety that have been termed modernization, as well as of changes in the
media systems.
Modernization has made campaigning a difficult job. The influence
of sociodemographic characteristics or party identification on voting
behavior has diminished, leading to much greater uncertainty in pre-
dicting the vote. In the United States as well as in European countries
voter turnout has fallen – in some cases dramatically. This dealignment
process was fostered by a shift in value preferences and even more so
by the increase in the general educational level. What had once been an
almost automatic decision was replaced by a weighing of alternatives on
the part of the voter – not necessarily a deliberate and careful process,
but one of taking shortcuts. This is also the starting point for the rational
choice approach. However, with the weakening of party ties the chances
for gaining voters through the campaign increase. At the same time, with
these prospects, the challenge for campaigners has increased as well. In
addition to these changes in the electorate, the differentiation of the me-
dia systems has further contributed to the necessity of employing sales
professionals for electoral campaigns.
All these changes, which have provoked the professionalization of
campaigning, could first be observed in the United States. This is also
due to the fact that the U.S. political and electoral systems are oriented
toward individual candidates and to a media system that has been a com-
mercial one right from its early beginnings. When similar developments
became visible in Western Europe and electoral campaigns changed their
outlook, these changes were therefore dubbed Americanization.Itisonly
at this point that similarities and simultaneously common problems de-
velop and campaign research finally takes on an internationally compar-
ative perspective. A 1987 research overview by Harrop and Miller still
concluded: “The study of election campaigns, as opposed to elections, is
a major gap” (240).
Thus, international comparisons in this field of research usually do
not date back further than ten to fifteen years. The cause for the hesitant

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