The author argues that as more women run for public office, there is an increasing need for research examining how gender affects the dynamics of political campaigns. In the essay, decision making research is used to address how women staff their campaigns, delegate responsibility, & make choices once elected. In addition, an examination of the media reflects a gender bias in the way women's campaigns are reported on. Finally, the author addresses fund raising and voter recruitment issues relevant to women candidates. L. Conly
Examines features of "The new campaign politics" to determine to what extent they are characteristic of electoral campaigns in Greece, Italy, Portugal, & Spain. The old campaign politics are defined by looking at changes in the actors, arenas, issues, & resources that occurred with the emergence of democracies in Greece, Portugal, & Spain, & the evolution of campaign politics in Italy's continuous democracy. Exploration of the new campaign politics focuses on the unique institutional frameworks & structures of opportunities available to political actors, as well as the impact on electoral campaigns of nonpolitical networks, professional organizations, informal groups, & well-known political outsiders, such as the TV mogul who entered politics when old parties were collapsing & was elected prime minister in spite of his lack of government experience. It is concluded that the new campaign politics in southern Europe stems from the joint impact of pervasive TV communication that has personalized politics, & the relative weakness of party organizations. In addition, the transition to consolidated democracies has almost eliminated class differences. 4 Tables. J. Lindroth
Offers an in-depth analysis of election campaigns & the processes through which political parties or interest groups strive to garner votes for their candidates. The research literature on election campaigns is reviewed, focusing on new campaign processes, the role of political parties in them, & their impacts on parties. Trends in the US are summarized, tracing the evolution of political campaigns 1860s-2000s & evaluating their implications for the "Americanization" of Western European campaign activities. An empirical model of the diffusion of US campaign techniques to Western Europe is developed that explains the function of various structural filters & politico-cultural traits in facilitating new technical, resource, & thematic developments. Tables, Figures. K. Hyatt Stewart
Various aspects of the 2000 US presidential campaign are investigated. The presidential campaign is divided into four phases, eg, through the Republican nominating convention & between the Democratic nominating convention & the last debate. Several aspects of the presidential campaign that rendered the election's outcome close are identified: the absence of an incumbent; the extent of partisanship among American voters; the influence of the Clinton administration on voters' selection of candidate; & the Republican Party's capacity to quickly unify the party to support George W. Bush. The poll standings for both Bush & Democrat candidate Al Gore during the conventions, the debates, & the final few weeks that preceded the election are then reviewed. It is concluded that the Gore camp made three significant mistakes throughout the campaign, eg, not emphasizing Gore's connection with the Clinton administration's strong economic performance. 8 Tables, 19 References. J. W. Parker
The history of Asian Americans in WA politics is chronicled. With a growing number of Asian Americans becoming elected officials, lessons learned from Gary Locke's 1996 campaign for the governorship of WA are analyzed. In the primary elections, Locke positioned himself as a moderate Democrat; his Asian American heritage underscored this position. During the campaign he focused on moderate & middle-class voters, & his immigrant success story resonated with many. The Asian American media in WA & nationwide played a positive role in his campaign. He won the race with a wide margin. This case shows the importance of fund-raising, especially early in a campaign, & of a multicultural image. M. Pflum
In this chapter of Life after Reform: When Bipartisan Campaign Reform Meets Politics, the authors address the impact of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) on presidential politics to predict that the law will generate two tiers of candidates & increase the importance of the "invisible army" of pre-campaign fundraising. The problems of soft money & front loading are discussed in the context of public financing created by the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). The choice by presidential candidates to opt out of the public finance system in favor of reliance on outside money is discussed. The authors analyze three scenarios of the impacts of BCRA had existed in the 2000 primary elections to argue that BCRA will strengthen incentives against use of the public finance system by presidential candidates. 2 Tables, 4 Figures. J. Harwell
Competing conceptions of corruption & their use in contemporary struggles to reform campaign finance laws are examined. Problems with James Scott's (1972) identification of three approaches to defining corruption are disclosed. Three standards of corruption used by US courts in corruption cases are discussed: quid pro quo, in which officials accept monetary compensation for performing an action; monetary influence, in which public officials perform public duties with the thought of receiving money; & distortion, in which officials' policy decisions are influenced by campaign contributions rather than public opinion. It is contended that the monetary influence standard offers the best approach for explaining political corruption. In addition, it is argued that deliberative theory offers strong support for the monetary influence standard approach. It is concluded that the US judicial system must consider explanations of corruption more carefully before attempting to influence campaign finance law. J. W. Parker
Within a highly mediatized society, young people approach democracy, political participation, & political communication in a nontraditional manner. The new political audience has been virtually transformed by the "new media." A discussion of this transformation follows, with particular emphasis on the idea of the political audience. The ideas evolving from this discussion are then applied to data collected during GB's 1997 general election. The case study illustrates the manner in which young people take in & understand the political communication disseminated during a political campaign. It is concluded that young people are highly mediatized; therefore, it is essential that when categorizing young people within the political system they not be viewed as a political constituency but as a political audience. 59 References. K. A. Larsen
The social characteristics of individuals who voted in the 2000 US presidential election, explanations for the election's low voter turnout, the use of political profiling by political parties & other organizations, & the consequences of faulty election administration are investigated. Several social characteristics of voters deemed important for this election are identified including age, gender, marital status, party identification, & ideology. It is contended that poor political mobilization efforts can partially account for low voter turnout; strategies employed by major parties in previous presidential elections are then contrasted to those currently used. Specific attention is dedicated to examining the Republican National Committee's & the National Rifle Assoc's use of political profiling during the electoral campaign. After discussing voter activation efforts used in this election, various problems that emerged with the administration of election voting are highlighted. The need to make the process of accessing & casting one's ballot easier in future elections is stressed. J. W. Parker
The connection between party finance processes & political corruption in the US & Western European & Asian nations is studied. Comparison of this connection in 20th-century Germany, Italy, & Japan illustrates common characteristics of nations plagued by party finance corruption. Data from the author's (1963) comparative study on party finance & from Transparency International Corruption Perception Index for 1995-1997 are used to rank the connection between party finance & political corruption in multiple Western & Asian nations. Analysis indicates a strong positive correlation between party finance & corruption in a majority of the nations under study. A multimodel framework that accounts for the various connections between party finance & corruption in the studied nations is presented. 2 Tables, 1 Figure, 33 References. J. W. Parker
Empirical data from various national opinion polls are used to analyze public attachment to political parties -- party identification -- across nations & time. The debate on the changing nature of partisan attachments in advanced industrial democracies & arguments about an increasing tendency toward dealignment are summarized, then supported with crossnational survey data, 1970s-1990s, from the US, Canada, GB, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Austria, the Netherlands, & Switzerland. The impact of dealignment on electoral behavior is assessed at the national & individual levels, including effects on voting & citizen participation in political campaigns. Tables, Figures. K. Hyatt Stewart
The means by which political parties raise & spend hard & soft money in US congressional campaigns was examined, especially for the 2002 campaign that preceded the tighter election laws of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. Between 1996-2002, soft money spending by both parties expanded because it was less constrained & easier to raise than hard money, more helpful in candidate-specific election messages, & could be targeted to the most competitive races. The expansion of soft money allowed the Democrats to reach parity in campaign spending with the Republicans in 2000 & 2002. The vehicles for spending soft money are examined. Parties focused their spending efforts on a few competitive races & conveyed mainly negative messages. Channeling campaign spending through the national party committees has not strengthened the parties because their soft money was spread over candidate-specific ads. Tables, Figures. M. Pflum
