An argument is presented that instead of hiding behind political correctness; political scientists and journalists should recognize that negative campaigns benefits democracy. Examples of negative campaigning in the 2008 US Presidential election are discussed. Negative campaigning is defined. A literature review is included of criticisms against negative campaigning and the effects thereof. The author argues that criticisms of negative campaigning are presented outside historical context and rests on a naive understanding of democracy. It is suggested that it is an insult to voter intelligence to presume that false information can be disseminated by negative ads. It is maintained that negative campaigning lead to full disclosure and increased factual information to voters. Examples are provided of the losing party using negative campaigning as an excuse, rather than focusing on underlying political issues. It is argued that the media fuel the fire of negative campaigns by guaranteed extensive coverage, thus turning negative campaigns into good political strategy. The value of negative campaigns is increased voter interest, which lead to a better democracy. References. E. Sundby
The author examines the power of superdelegates to exert disproportionate influence on the selection of the Democratic nominee for president. It is asserted that superdelegates consist dominantly of the party elite or party machine and are primarily white males, which it is further argued goes to the heart of the elitist concept of American exceptionalism. The history of American exceptionalism is examined. The introduction of superdelegates into the Democratic Party nomination process and front-loading of state elections to influence the nomination process are discussed as examples of exceptionalist politics. Campaign financing and spending is discussed, including the issue of campaign finance reform. One perspective presented on superdelegates is that they are intended to balance out the liberal tendencies of the average democrat voter in the primary election to promote the nomination of a moderate candidate. References. E. Sundby
"This anthology concerns the many local elections held throughout Norway on 9 September 2019. Based on voter surveys carried out after every local election since 1995, the ten chapters in this book explore a variety of election-related topics such as voting behaviour and election campaigns, as well as political participation and political trust between elections. It is at the municipal level that most citizens can influence policy, and what occurs at the local level often plays a vital role in people's daily lives. One of the objectives of this book is therefore to better understand how local democracy functions, both in and between elections.
The 2019 local elections were marked by mobilization, protest, and high turnout, due to the focus on politically charged issues such as the toll roads, climate change, and municipal amalgamation. Amalgamation was not just a campaign issue, but a part of the institutional context; the 2019 elections took place in newly merged municipalities. This is therefore a dominant topic throughout this book. How citizens feel about municipal reform and its potential consequences, for example, is explored. Several chapters examine the significance of amalgamation on various aspects of local democracy: local party systems, turnout and voting behaviour, the parties' candidate selection, and representation in municipal councils. Taken as a whole, this anthology represents a status report on local democracy in the first election held in the merged municipalities.
This book will be of interest to anyone following developments in local democracy in Norway, especially students, researchers, journalists, and politically active citizens." - "Denne antologien handler om de mange lokalvalgene som ble holdt rundt om i Norge 9. september 2019. Med utgangspunkt i velgerundersøkelsene som er gjennomført ved hvert lokalvalg siden 1995, tar boken gjennom ti kapitler for seg dels valg, velgeratferd, valgkamp og valgutfall, og dels politisk deltakelse og politisk tillit mellom valgene. Det er i kommunene flest innbyggere har anledning til å delta i politikkutformingen, og lokalnivået spiller ofte en viktig rolle i den enkeltes hverdagsliv. Hensikten med boken er derfor også å forstå hvordan lokaldemokratiet fungerer mellom valgene.
Lokalvalget i 2019 var preget av høy valgdeltakelse, mobilisering og protest gjennom fokus på politiske saker som bompenger, klima og kommunereform. Kommunereformen var ikke bare valgkamptema, men en sentral rammebetingelse for lokalvalget i 2019. Kommunesammenslåing er derfor et gjennomgående tema i boken. Ett emne er hva innbyggerne mener om kommunereformen og dens mulige konsekvenser. Flere kapitler utforsker sammenslåingenes betydning for ulike sider ved lokaldemokratiet: lokale partisystemer, valgdeltakelse, personstemmegivning, partienes nominasjoner, og representasjon i kommunestyrene. Samlet sett er antologien en statusrapport for lokaldemokratiet i det første valget etter kommunereformen.
Boken henvender seg til alle som er interessert i utviklingen av det norske lokaldemokratiet, men særlig til studenter, forskere, journalister og politisk aktive."
