Web Sites in the European ElectionsWeb Sites in the European Elections
Carlo HagemannCarlo HagemannNijmegen Institute for Communication Nijmegen Institute for Communication
ResearchResearchRadboud University NijmegenRadboud University Nijmegen
European UnionEuropean Union
EU is governed by:EU is governed by:– CouncilCouncil– CommissionCommission– ParliamentParliament
Parliament is the only directly Parliament is the only directly representative institutionrepresentative institution
Parliament’s power is confined to Parliament’s power is confined to co-decisionco-decision
Legitimacy of European ParliamentLegitimacy of European Parliament
European Parliament is considered to beEuropean Parliament is considered to be– IntransparentIntransparent– InvisibleInvisible– Highly relevant or…. Highly relevant or….
Low voter turnoutLow voter turnout Second order national elections (Hix)Second order national elections (Hix)
Second order national electionsSecond order national elections
European elections are considered not too European elections are considered not too relevantrelevant
European elections are considered a mega-European elections are considered a mega-opinion pollopinion poll– Fringe parties benefitFringe parties benefit– Government parties loseGovernment parties lose
Research QuestionResearch Question
To what degree, and in what manner do political To what degree, and in what manner do political parties incorporate their electoral strategies into parties incorporate their electoral strategies into the Internet Web sites?the Internet Web sites?– More specifically:More specifically:
» In what manner can ideological and national-cultural In what manner can ideological and national-cultural influences on campaign style and material be discerned?influences on campaign style and material be discerned?
– Even more specifically:Even more specifically:» In what manner can campaign style and material be seen as In what manner can campaign style and material be seen as
meant for a second order national election campaign?meant for a second order national election campaign?
Ideology or National-CultureIdeology or National-Culture
Since European elections are considered Since European elections are considered second-order national elections:second-order national elections:– Hypothesis: European campaign is equal to Hypothesis: European campaign is equal to
national campaignnational campaign» Only little attention for EuropeOnly little attention for Europe
» National issues instead of European issuesNational issues instead of European issues
– Hypothesis: If campaign issues and frames Hypothesis: If campaign issues and frames differ, it is between countries, not between differ, it is between countries, not between ideologiesideologies
Research DesignResearch Design
Content analysisContent analysis Archive of Web sites prior to the European Archive of Web sites prior to the European
ElectionsElections Two-stage-analysisTwo-stage-analysis
– Features: recording unit = Web siteFeatures: recording unit = Web site– Issues and Frames: recording unit = ‘Article’ Issues and Frames: recording unit = ‘Article’
about European Unionabout European Union
General observationsGeneral observations
Web sites supplement the rest of the Web sites supplement the rest of the campaigncampaign– Information provisionInformation provision– Interactivity is mainly one wayInteractivity is mainly one way
Web sites are rather sophisticatedWeb sites are rather sophisticated Most features are present on all Web sites, Most features are present on all Web sites,
but:but:– No fundraising in the Netherlands and IrelandNo fundraising in the Netherlands and Ireland– Opinion polling reserved for the UKOpinion polling reserved for the UK
Europe in IrelandEurope in Ireland
www.finegail.ie
Candidates
Europe in the UKEurope in the UKwww.labour.org.uk
Europe in the NetherlandsEurope in the Netherlands
www.vvd.nl
Europe in GermanyEurope in Germanywww.spd.de Eurokampa.de
Features: National and ideologicalFeatures: National and ideological
Country Ideology
Netherlands
Germany
UKIrela
nd
Christian-
democrats
LiberalsSocial-democra
ts
Green
Interactive .28 .13 .13 .25 .20 .19 .19 .19
Navigation .63 .88
1.00 .25 .70 .63 .75 .63
Conversion .42 .58 .17 .17 .33 .25 .25 .42
IssuesIssuesCountryCountry IdeologyIdeology
%% NLNL DEDE UKUK IEIE CDCD LibLib SDSD GreenGreen
FinanceFinance 27.127.1 26.826.8 6.96.9 8.78.7
Econ. growthEcon. growth 5.95.9 10.910.9 30.030.0 11.111.1
EmploymentEmployment 13.213.2 12.512.5 25.025.0 5.65.6 14.614.6 10.710.7 27.627.6 0.00.0
Social policySocial policy 10.310.3 4.74.7 7.57.5 25.025.0 6.36.3 3.63.6 22.422.4 8.78.7
AgricultureAgriculture 16.216.2 4.74.7 2.52.5 2.82.8
Expansion EUExpansion EU 20.620.6 28.128.1 10.010.0 5.65.6 18.818.8 26.826.8 22.422.4 2.22.2
Reference EPReference EP 45.645.6 28.128.1 65.065.0 44.444.4
Role EPRole EP 7.47.4 17.517.5 4.74.7 13.913.9
Negative EPNegative EP 10.310.3 3.13.1 25.025.0 11.111.1 20.820.8 8.98.9 8.68.6 6.56.5
FramesFrames
CountryCountry IdeologyIdeology
mean scoremean score NLNL DEDE UKUK IEIE CDCD LibLib SDSD GreenGreen
National vs National vs EuropeanEuropean
.18.18 .23.23 .51.51 .44.44 .34.34 .22.22 .41.41 .24.24
Substance vs Substance vs FormForm
.41.41 .41.41 .34.34 .49.49 .41.41 .40.40 .41.41 .43.43
Ethical vs Ethical vs MaterialMaterial
.80.80 .70.70 .74.74 .75.75 .73.73 .75.75 .78.78 .72.72
SummarySummary
Features do not correlate with ideology. If they Features do not correlate with ideology. If they correlate, it is with nationalitycorrelate, it is with nationality
Issues:Issues:– Social issues are Social Democrats’, whereas finance is Social issues are Social Democrats’, whereas finance is
Christian Democrats’ and Liberals’Christian Democrats’ and Liberals’
– Expansion of EU is a Dutch and German issueExpansion of EU is a Dutch and German issue
Frames:Frames:– National frame is UK’s and Social Democrats’National frame is UK’s and Social Democrats’
– UK’s campaigns are least about political substanceUK’s campaigns are least about political substance
Plans for Further ResearchPlans for Further Research
Comparison with other elections, and off-Comparison with other elections, and off-election yearselection years
Expanding on second order national Expanding on second order national electionselections
Seeking for more theoretical substance in Seeking for more theoretical substance in political science literaturepolitical science literature
Archiving, and securing dataArchiving, and securing data Content Analysis could be more rigorous Content Analysis could be more rigorous
(and more tedious)(and more tedious)