Page 245 - Comparing Political Communication Theories, Cases, and Challenge

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Political Campaign Communication

the historical development as well as the current position of its political
institutions and processes (1996a, 260–1). Among the countries of the
first group are the United States, Great Britain, Sweden, and Germany.
In these countries the modernization process has led to the weakening of
traditional structures (religious institutions, trade unions) that formerly
influenced voting decisions. Small groups that represent diverse inter-
ests have emerged instead. Parties define their programs on the basis of
broad and generally accepted values and objectives. The mass media, and
television in particular, became established as central agents of political
socialization. As a consequence of theses processes, political actors were
forced to to take over modern methods of campaigning. A common fea-
ture of the three European countries in this group is that the U.S.-style
campaigning here is subject to public criticism. In Europe, parties still
play a central role in the political process and thus prevent a shift of
campaign organization from the parties to external experts, which also
explains the comparatively strong commercialization of the campaign in
the United States.
Spain, Russia, and Poland belong to the group of newly or recently re-
stored democracies. These countries have adapted to modern campaign
techniques with less resistance than the established democracies of the
first group. This is explained by the fact that candidates in these coun-
tries encounter more difficult political conditions because democratic
processes were introduced even before democratic institutions became
established. Owing to nationally diverse reasons, the printed press is
weak in these countries, which necessarily makes television the central
channel of campaigning.
The route to modern campaigning took still another turn in those
countries struggling with internal, potentially destabilizing tensions.
This group consists of Israel, Italy, Argentina, and Venezuela. In these
countries political actors are confronted with – in some cases consider-
able – loss of trust in the whole electorate or in certain target groups,
which leads to specific conditions for campaigning. Where parts of the
electorate appear not very susceptible to modern campaigns methods,
traditional channels for addressing voters remain relevant (Swanson and
Mancini 1996a, 263–5)

CONCLUSION
The way in which modern campaigns are conducted has been widely
criticized. In the United States the high costs became the primary

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