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Conspiracy theories are inevitable in complex human societies. And while they have always been with us, their ubiquity in our political discourse is nearly unprecedented. Their salience has increased for a variety of reasons including the increasing access to information among ordinary people, a pervasive sense of powerlessness among those same people, and a widespread distrust of elites. Working in combination, these factors and many other factors are now propelling conspiracy theories into our public sphere on a vast scale. In recent years, scholars have begun to study this genuinely important phenomenon in a concerted way. In Conspiracy Theories and the People Who Believe Them, Joseph E. ...
This book examines the 2020 campaign and election in the United States of America from the perspective of political marketing, always intrinsic to democratic elections. Whether focused on the development of campaign strategy, its implementation via various communication media, or how well that communication resonates and mobilizes the electorate, marketing is central to political campaigning. The election of 2020 was arguably one of the most unique in recent memory. The campaign took place in a context which included a pandemic that prevented normal campaigning for much of the year, a historically unpopular and polarizing incumbent president and continued adaptation on the part of all politi...
In the wake of the 2016 presidential election there was widespread shock that the Midwest, the Democrats’ so-called blue wall, had been so effectively breached by Donald Trump. But the blue wall, as The Conservative Heartland makes clear, was never quite as secure as so many observers assumed. A deep look at the Midwest’s history of conservative politics, this timely volume reveals how conservative victories in state houses, legislatures, and national elections in the early twenty-first century, far from coming out of nowhere, in fact had extensive roots across decades of political organization in the region. Focusing on nine states, from Iowa and the Dakotas to Indiana and Ohio, the ess...
A fresh examination of political representation in an era of negative partisanship. What does representation look like when politicians focus on "othering" the opposing party rather than the policy interests of their constituents? How do voters react to negative partisan rhetoric? And is policy responsiveness still the cornerstone of American representative democracy? In How Politicians Polarize, Mia Costa draws on survey experiments, analysis of congressional newsletters and tweets, and data on fundraising and media coverage to examine how and why politicians rely so often on negative partisan attacks. Costa shows that most Americans do not like negative rhetoric, and politicians know this. Nonetheless, these kinds of attacks can reap powerful rewards from national media, donors, and party elites. Costa’s findings challenge the popular notion that Americans are motivated more by their partisan identities than by policy representation. Her research illuminates how the political ecosystem rewards negative representation and how this affects the quality of American democracy.
In many elections, candidates frame their appeals in gendered ways--they compete, for instance, over who is more "masculine." This is the case for male and female candidates alike. In the 2016 presidential election, however, the stark choice between the first major-party female candidate and a man who exhibited a persistent pattern of misogyny made the use of gender more prominent than in any previous election in the United States. Presidential campaigns often have an impact on downballot Congressional races, but the 2016 election provided a new opportunity to see the effects of misogyny. While much has been written about the 2016 election--and the shadow of 2016 clearly affected the pool of...
Candidates normally run for office in the places where they live. Occasionally, however, a politician will run as a carpetbagger—someone who moves to a new state for the express purpose of running, or who runs in one state after holding office in another. Stranger in a Strange State examines what makes some politicians take this drastic step and how that shapes their campaigns and chances for victory. Focusing on races for the US Senate from 1964 forward, Christopher J. Galdieri analyzes the campaigns of nine carpetbaggers, including nationally known figures such as Robert F. Kennedy and Hillary Rodham Clinton and less well-known candidates like Elizabeth Cheney and Scott Brown. These case studies draw on archival research, contemporaneous accounts of each campaign, and scholarship on campaigns and representation. While the record reveals that it generally takes national political stature for a carpetbagger to win an election, some recent campaigns suggest that in today's polarized political era, both politicians and state political parties might want to be more open to the prospect of carpetbagging.
Current public health promotion of breastfeeding relies heavily on health messaging and individual behavior change. Women are told that “breast is best” but too little serious attention is given to addressing the many social, economic, and political factors that combine to limit women’s real choice to breastfeed beyond a few days or weeks. The result: women’s, infants’, and public health interests are undermined. Beyond Health, Beyond Choice examines how feminist perspectives can inform public health support for breastfeeding. Written by authors from diverse disciplines, perspectives, and countries, this collection of essays is arranged thematically and considers breastfeeding in r...
Why do some countries hold elections that meet global democratic standards, while other countries do not? Electoral Commissions and Democratization in Africa makes a novel contribution to this question. In a departure from the typical story about the “boring” administrative tasks that electoral commissions carry out and their impact on international observers' assessments of election quality, Kerr aruges that electoral commissions provide valuable information that helps politicians and citizens resolve uncertainties about electoral fraud and administrative irregularities. Whereas previous research focuses on the institutional design of electoral commissions, this book privileges their ac...
This book analyzes the role of social networks during electoral campaigns around the world, taking into account the non‐technological particularities (political, electoral, social, economic, cultural) of the media configurations of different countries. Political parties all over the world engage in real virtual battles to appear at the cutting edge of technology. Providing in‐depth case studies from across Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, and Africa, this book emphasizes the need to study how institutions, culture, and politics shape the processes of technology diffusion in each context. It asks: what are the uses of social networks in election campaigns in different countries...
This new edition examines the theory, structure, and the contemporary electoral process, analyzing how the system has evolved, how it is working today, and its challenges for the future. Stephen J. Wayne illuminates the democratic strength and weaknesses of the American electoral system and asks, "Is this any way to run a democratic election?" Updated to included insight into the contentious 2020 and 2022 elections, the chapters look ahead to the 2024 election with detailed analysis of the impact of money, media, partisanship, misinformation, changes in electoral laws, public trust and election denial on the electorate, political parties, and the candidates for office. Each chapter opens wit...