CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2019
| Author | Matók, Dániel |
|---|---|
| Title | From Policy to Irrationality: Negative Campaigning in Hungary 1990-2018 |
| Summary | This study aims to capture the changes in negative campaigning in Hungarian parliamentary elections between 1990 and 2018. The theoretical framework is based on a multilayered conceptualization of negative campaigning in contrast to the binary understanding of the notion based on the works of Fowler & Ridout (2012) and Kahn and Kenney (1999). The main hypotheses of the thesis are that candidates or parties are more likely to engage in negative campaigning under the following circumstances: i), when they stand behind in an election, ii) when the ‘race’ is close between competitors, ii) when in opposition, iv) when the actor is associated with a right-wing party, v) and when the actor is attacked by criticism from another opponent. By using the results of individual data collection and extant literature, the study confirms the applicability of all five hypotheses in the context of Hungarian party politics. It is however stressed that negative campaigning remains contingent upon structural factors and under certain conditions actors do not increase the negativity of their campaigns due to misperceptions of the power relations. Finally, the proportion negative campaigning has increased in the long term, and advertisements have shifted from policy-oriented themes to emotional messages of post-truth politics. |
| Supervisor | Robert Sata |
| Department | Political Science MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2019/matok_daniel.pdf |
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