Political Campaigning in Referendums: Framing the Referendum Issue

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, andcitizens, this innovative volume will be of interest to students and researchers of political communications.

Claes H. de Vreese is Associate Professor and Dutch Science Foundation Fellow in the Amsterdam School of Communications Research at the University of Amsterdam. He is currently a Visiting Scholar at the Center for European Studies at Harvard University.