Original scientific paper
To What Extent and in What Ways do Election Campaigns Matter?
Marijana Grbeša
; Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The collapse of the traditional social ties, the advance of the mass
media and the advent of political marketing have altered the structure
and the direction of electoral campaigns. Present-day media-mediated
electoral campaigns are hotly debated. On one side are those who
claim that campaigns simplify political reality, manipulate voters, encourage voting apathy and in the long run contribute to democratic
deficit. On the other side are those who claim that campaigns had to
adapt to the new communication environment, that only the attractive, media-honed campaigns can attract voters’ attention and that the majority of campaigns on the whole are a positive influence on electoral participation and voters’ familiarity with political processes.
This paper is an attempt to present the arguments of both sides and to answer how and to what extent electoral campaigns affect the democratic process.
Keywords
political finance; political funding regulation; public financing; financing election campaigns
Hrčak ID:
20751
URI
Publication date:
12.6.2006.
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