Political Campaigning in Referendums: Framing the Referendum Issue (Routledge Research in Political Communication)

"This book reviews the research on campaigns and elections and investigates the effects of campaigning in referendums, drawing on panel survey data, media content data, focus groups, and interviews with journalists and campaign managers. The authors argue that the media coverage not only influences public perceptions of the campaign, the referendum issue, and the party leaders but that, in a close race, it also shapes the voting and the political future of the incumbent party." "The first study to investigate the dynamics and effects of a referendum campaign on politicians, media, and citizens, this innovative volume will be of interest to students and researchers of political science, communications, and EU politics."--Jacket

Referendums are an increasingly important means of enacting or preventing legislation in countries around the world. Despite the simplistic nature of the Yes or No vote, the referendum issue is often complex and multi-faceted. The framing of the referendum issue in the information environment can thus be crucially important to the process of crystallizing public opinion and mobilizing support during the campaign.

This book reviews the research on campaigns and elections and investigates the effects of campaigning in referendums, drawing on panel survey data, media content data, focus groups, and interviews with journalists and campaign managers. The authors argue that the media coverage not only influences public perceptions of the campaign, the referendum issue and the party leader but that, in a close race, it also shapes the voting and the political future of the incumbent party.

The first study to investigate the dynamics and effects of a referendum campaign on politicians, media, and citizens, this innovative volume will be of interest to students and researchers of political communications.

Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 List of figures......Page 8 List of tables......Page 9 Preface......Page 11 The importance of information in referendums......Page 14 The dynamics of a referendum campaign......Page 16 The context of the campaign......Page 36 The political parties' campaigns......Page 56 The Yes and No camps......Page 58 The campaign in the news: polls, personalities, and the multi-faceted issue of the euro......Page 76 The campaign in the news......Page 78 Elite framing of the issue......Page 105 Campaign effects......Page 118 Agenda-setting in a referendum......Page 120 Polls, strategy news, and political cynicism......Page 133 Primed by the referendum......Page 149 Campaign effects of the vote......Page 166 The consequences of referendums......Page 182 Conclusions......Page 184 Appendices......Page 198 Notes......Page 211 References......Page 215 Author index......Page 231 Subject index......Page 235 The importance of information in referendums The dynamics of a referendum campaign The context of the campaign The political parties' campaigns The yes and no camps The campaign in the news : polls, personalities and the multi-faceted issue The campaign in the news Elite framing of the issue Campaign effects on the public Public understanding of the referendum issue Polls, strategy news and political cynicism Priming public evaluations of political leaders Campaign effects on the vote The consequences of referendums Conclusions. Referendums and citizen initiatives are an increasingly important means of enacting or preventing legislation in countries around the world.