Page 243 - Comparing Political Communication Theories, Cases, and Challenge

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Political Campaign Communication

In Europe, the term Americanization has elicited much critique. Com-
parisons with the United States must obviously be regarded as prob-
lematic because of the obvious differences in the political systems and
in the media systems. Nevertheless, the Americanization hypothesis
has been used as a starting point for several analyses of modern elec-
tion campaigns. Similarly, in the introductory chapter of their com-
parative book on campaigns, the editors Swanson and Mancini argue
that Americanization is a useful working hypothesis but stress equally:
“We regard the matter as an open question, and offer Americanization
not as a conclusion, but as a reference point . . .” (Mancini and Swanson
1996, 4).
Against this background the editors design the analytic frame for
comparing campaigns in eleven democracies. This frame takes into con-
sideration the consequences for the political and the media system and
their interrelationships that result from the differentiation of society – a
process that is also called modernization. On the part of the political sys-
tem these consequences are the deideologization of parties and the rise of
“catch-all parties” or “electoral parties” that, in order to maximize votes,
remain susceptible to a broad variety of issues. In weakening party struc-
tures the career of individual candidates who serve as reference points for
specific groups of society and their issues and expectations comes to the
forefront. This process of personalization leads to a situation where the
person represents the idea. In modern societies, Mancini and Swanson
(1996, 11) further argue, the mass media have emerged as autonomous
power centers that influence the political process by setting their own is-
sue agenda. In addition, the media, and television in particular, reinforce
the personalization process. The commercialization of the broadcasting
media that accompanied the market entry of commercial broadcasters
has also changed the conditions for the conveyance of politics and forced
political actors to adapt to the new situation.
Following these theoretical considerations Mancini and Swanson de-
veloped five characteristics of modern campaign communication: per-
sonalizationofpolitics;scientificizationofpolitics;detachmentofparties
from citizens while interpersonal contact is substituted by opinion polls;
autonomous structures of communication in which the mass media act
independently; and finally, the citizen becomes a spectator following
the political spectacle. Context factors, particularly different electoral
systems, the structures of party competition, campaign regulation, po-
litical culture, as well as the structures of the media systems, constitute
differences in electoral campaigns in the various countries.

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