Sam Power
Biographic Data
| ID | 4379745 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Sam Power |
| GIVEN NAMES | Sam |
| FAMILY NAME | Power |
| SIGNATURE | POWER S |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Sussex |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5803-2660 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 82 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 15 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2015 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Come, Armageddon, come
Understanding the Modern Election Campaign
What do modern election campaigns look like? According to the most recent accounts, they are data-driven operations in which extensive data are collected and targeted messages are deployed in efforts to maximize support. Whilst highlighting important new developments, in this article we argue that a focus on novel practices offers a distorted picture of modern campaigns. Presenting a unique analysis of over 22,720 separate items of expenditure ma…
Public understanding of Electoral Spending
Transparency is core to the principle of electoral oversight and can provide information that informs voters’ experience of elections. Information disclosure is designed to allow voters, the media, academics, and civil society to hold political actors to account. However, in the context of evolving campaign practice, the effectiveness of transparency mechanisms needs to be consistently scrutinised (Electoral Commission, 2018). In this paper, we e…
Monitoring digital election campaigns
Digital election campaigning has undergone increased levels of scrutiny in recent years, with numerous calls for improved transparency. One key innovation has been the creation of online advertising archives offered by social media platforms such as Facebook, Google, and Snapchat. In this article, we compare what we know about digital campaigning in the United Kingdom from official election returns and Facebook and Google’s online advertising arc…
What motivates business to donate to politics? A framework and an empirical application
The secrecy, subtlety, and diversity of party-firm relations have proven challenging to synthesize. We introduce a new heuristic framework for the study business donors on the basis of pragmatic, partisan, and social motivations. We illustrate our framework with an analysis of donors to the UK Conservative Party from the property services and construction industries. While actors make it almost impossible to place particular events in our framewo…
Mobilizing or Chasing Voters on Facebook? Analysing Echo-Chamber Effects at the UK Parliamentary General Election 2019
Alongside the growth of online campaigning has been an increased anxiety around its effects on democratic institutions and processes. Many have suggested that in a (new) media environment that privileges choice, citizens will increasingly segment themselves into echo chambers, tuning out dissenting voices. But the debate on the existence of echo chambers is mixed, and the extent to which political parties campaign to easily persuadable (and pre-d…
Understanding Corruption
Corruption takes many different forms and the systems that enable it are complex and challenging. To best understand corruption, one needs to examine how it operates in practice. Understanding Corruption tells the story of how corruption happens in the real world, illustrated through detailed case studies of the many different types of corruption that span the globe. Each case study follows a tried and tested analytical approach that provides key…
The digital ecosystem
Since at least the 1980s, scholars have highlighted parties’ reliance on external actors, with Panebianco’s ‘electoral–professional’ party model spotlighting the increasing role of professionals in supporting party activities and campaigns. Over successive decades, our understanding of the role of external actors, and particularly consultants, has grown. As parties have begun to embrace digital tools and technologies, however, it has become appar…
Party Funding and Corruption
From multi-speed to multi-stream? Recognising the motivations, processes and triggers behind party membership
A key question facing scholars of party politics is the journey engaged individuals take to becoming party members. We argue that the existing literature largely outlines one aspect – motivation. In this article, we present an alternative position: that a membership journey is only complete when a motivation, process and trigger are present. We outline this utilising a case study of the Green Party of England and Wales including previously confid…
The Transparency Paradox
The role of new sources of data has become of increasing interest to those involved in political campaigning and a legislative focus of policy makers and regulators. Utilising Karl‐Heinz Nassmacher’s ‘magic quadrangle’ of ‘accounting, practicality, sanctions and transparency’ and a case study of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 this article unpicks how successful the ‘guiding philosophy’ of transparency was in delivering …
Mistake overturned, so I call it a lesson learned
This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in Parliamentary Affairs following peer review. The version of record Sam Power, Tim Bale, Paul Webb, ‘Mistake overturned, so I call it a lesson learned’:1 The Conservatives, Parliamentary Affairs, Volume 73, Issue Supplement_1, September 2020, Pages 65–83, https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsaa022 is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsaa022
The Political Economy of Facebook Advertising
Political advertising on Facebook is the latest in a long line of developments in campaign practice, and is a tool that has been mobilised extensively in elections around the world. In this article, we explore what we know about Facebook advertising at elections and ask what existing data from the UK Electoral Commission can reveal about current usage. Highlighting the principles behind Facebook advertising, we argue that existing metrics offer l…
The British party funding regime at a critical juncture? Applying new institutional analysis
This article analyses the state of play regarding party funding reform in British Politics through the application of new institutionalism. It then investigates whether the Collins Review of 2014 represents a critical juncture in the evolution of the political finance regime. Utilising elite interview and documentary research, the article argues that the removal of a key institutional stumbling block – the concession of the opt-in for trade union…
Iain McMenamin, If money talks, what does it say? Corruption and business financing of political parties, reviewed by Sam Power
The Political Economy of Facebook Advertising
Political advertising on Facebook is the latest in a long line of developments in campaign practice, and is a tool that has been mobilised extensively in elections around the world. In this article, we explore what we know about Facebook advertising at elections and ask what existing data from the UK Electoral Commission can reveal about current usage. Highlighting the principles behind Facebook advertising, we argue that existing metrics offer l…
The digital ecosystem
Since at least the 1980s, scholars have highlighted parties’ reliance on external actors, with Panebianco’s ‘electoral–professional’ party model spotlighting the increasing role of professionals in supporting party activities and campaigns. Over successive decades, our understanding of the role of external actors, and particularly consultants, has grown. As parties have begun to embrace digital tools and technologies, however, it has become appar…
From multi-speed to multi-stream? Recognising the motivations, processes and triggers behind party membership
A key question facing scholars of party politics is the journey engaged individuals take to becoming party members. We argue that the existing literature largely outlines one aspect – motivation. In this article, we present an alternative position: that a membership journey is only complete when a motivation, process and trigger are present. We outline this utilising a case study of the Green Party of England and Wales including previously confid…
Monitoring digital election campaigns
Digital election campaigning has undergone increased levels of scrutiny in recent years, with numerous calls for improved transparency. One key innovation has been the creation of online advertising archives offered by social media platforms such as Facebook, Google, and Snapchat. In this article, we compare what we know about digital campaigning in the United Kingdom from official election returns and Facebook and Google’s online advertising arc…
Mobilizing or Chasing Voters on Facebook? Analysing Echo-Chamber Effects at the UK Parliamentary General Election 2019
Alongside the growth of online campaigning has been an increased anxiety around its effects on democratic institutions and processes. Many have suggested that in a (new) media environment that privileges choice, citizens will increasingly segment themselves into echo chambers, tuning out dissenting voices. But the debate on the existence of echo chambers is mixed, and the extent to which political parties campaign to easily persuadable (and pre-d…
The Transparency Paradox
The role of new sources of data has become of increasing interest to those involved in political campaigning and a legislative focus of policy makers and regulators. Utilising Karl‐Heinz Nassmacher’s ‘magic quadrangle’ of ‘accounting, practicality, sanctions and transparency’ and a case study of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 this article unpicks how successful the ‘guiding philosophy’ of transparency was in delivering …
What motivates business to donate to politics? A framework and an empirical application
The secrecy, subtlety, and diversity of party-firm relations have proven challenging to synthesize. We introduce a new heuristic framework for the study business donors on the basis of pragmatic, partisan, and social motivations. We illustrate our framework with an analysis of donors to the UK Conservative Party from the property services and construction industries. While actors make it almost impossible to place particular events in our framewo…
Understanding the Modern Election Campaign
What do modern election campaigns look like? According to the most recent accounts, they are data-driven operations in which extensive data are collected and targeted messages are deployed in efforts to maximize support. Whilst highlighting important new developments, in this article we argue that a focus on novel practices offers a distorted picture of modern campaigns. Presenting a unique analysis of over 22,720 separate items of expenditure ma…
Public understanding of Electoral Spending
Transparency is core to the principle of electoral oversight and can provide information that informs voters’ experience of elections. Information disclosure is designed to allow voters, the media, academics, and civil society to hold political actors to account. However, in the context of evolving campaign practice, the effectiveness of transparency mechanisms needs to be consistently scrutinised (Electoral Commission, 2018). In this paper, we e…
Mistake overturned, so I call it a lesson learned
This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in Parliamentary Affairs following peer review. The version of record Sam Power, Tim Bale, Paul Webb, ‘Mistake overturned, so I call it a lesson learned’:1 The Conservatives, Parliamentary Affairs, Volume 73, Issue Supplement_1, September 2020, Pages 65–83, https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsaa022 is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsaa022
The British party funding regime at a critical juncture? Applying new institutional analysis
This article analyses the state of play regarding party funding reform in British Politics through the application of new institutionalism. It then investigates whether the Collins Review of 2014 represents a critical juncture in the evolution of the political finance regime. Utilising elite interview and documentary research, the article argues that the removal of a key institutional stumbling block – the concession of the opt-in for trade union…
Iain McMenamin, If money talks, what does it say? Corruption and business financing of political parties, reviewed by Sam Power
The British party funding regime at a critical juncture? Applying new institutional analysis
This article analyses the state of play regarding party funding reform in British Politics through the application of new institutionalism. It then investigates whether the Collins Review of 2014 represents a critical juncture in the evolution of the political finance regime. Utilising elite interview and documentary research, the article argues that the removal of a key institutional stumbling block – the concession of the opt-in for trade union…
The Political Economy of Facebook Advertising
Political advertising on Facebook is the latest in a long line of developments in campaign practice, and is a tool that has been mobilised extensively in elections around the world. In this article, we explore what we know about Facebook advertising at elections and ask what existing data from the UK Electoral Commission can reveal about current usage. Highlighting the principles behind Facebook advertising, we argue that existing metrics offer l…
Party Funding and Corruption
From multi-speed to multi-stream? Recognising the motivations, processes and triggers behind party membership
A key question facing scholars of party politics is the journey engaged individuals take to becoming party members. We argue that the existing literature largely outlines one aspect – motivation. In this article, we present an alternative position: that a membership journey is only complete when a motivation, process and trigger are present. We outline this utilising a case study of the Green Party of England and Wales including previously confid…
The Transparency Paradox
The role of new sources of data has become of increasing interest to those involved in political campaigning and a legislative focus of policy makers and regulators. Utilising Karl‐Heinz Nassmacher’s ‘magic quadrangle’ of ‘accounting, practicality, sanctions and transparency’ and a case study of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 this article unpicks how successful the ‘guiding philosophy’ of transparency was in delivering …
Mistake overturned, so I call it a lesson learned
This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in Parliamentary Affairs following peer review. The version of record Sam Power, Tim Bale, Paul Webb, ‘Mistake overturned, so I call it a lesson learned’:1 The Conservatives, Parliamentary Affairs, Volume 73, Issue Supplement_1, September 2020, Pages 65–83, https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsaa022 is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsaa022
The digital ecosystem
Since at least the 1980s, scholars have highlighted parties’ reliance on external actors, with Panebianco’s ‘electoral–professional’ party model spotlighting the increasing role of professionals in supporting party activities and campaigns. Over successive decades, our understanding of the role of external actors, and particularly consultants, has grown. As parties have begun to embrace digital tools and technologies, however, it has become appar…
Understanding Corruption
Corruption takes many different forms and the systems that enable it are complex and challenging. To best understand corruption, one needs to examine how it operates in practice. Understanding Corruption tells the story of how corruption happens in the real world, illustrated through detailed case studies of the many different types of corruption that span the globe. Each case study follows a tried and tested analytical approach that provides key…
What motivates business to donate to politics? A framework and an empirical application
The secrecy, subtlety, and diversity of party-firm relations have proven challenging to synthesize. We introduce a new heuristic framework for the study business donors on the basis of pragmatic, partisan, and social motivations. We illustrate our framework with an analysis of donors to the UK Conservative Party from the property services and construction industries. While actors make it almost impossible to place particular events in our framewo…
Mobilizing or Chasing Voters on Facebook? Analysing Echo-Chamber Effects at the UK Parliamentary General Election 2019
Alongside the growth of online campaigning has been an increased anxiety around its effects on democratic institutions and processes. Many have suggested that in a (new) media environment that privileges choice, citizens will increasingly segment themselves into echo chambers, tuning out dissenting voices. But the debate on the existence of echo chambers is mixed, and the extent to which political parties campaign to easily persuadable (and pre-d…
Public understanding of Electoral Spending
Transparency is core to the principle of electoral oversight and can provide information that informs voters’ experience of elections. Information disclosure is designed to allow voters, the media, academics, and civil society to hold political actors to account. However, in the context of evolving campaign practice, the effectiveness of transparency mechanisms needs to be consistently scrutinised (Electoral Commission, 2018). In this paper, we e…
Monitoring digital election campaigns
Digital election campaigning has undergone increased levels of scrutiny in recent years, with numerous calls for improved transparency. One key innovation has been the creation of online advertising archives offered by social media platforms such as Facebook, Google, and Snapchat. In this article, we compare what we know about digital campaigning in the United Kingdom from official election returns and Facebook and Google’s online advertising arc…
Come, Armageddon, come
Understanding the Modern Election Campaign
What do modern election campaigns look like? According to the most recent accounts, they are data-driven operations in which extensive data are collected and targeted messages are deployed in efforts to maximize support. Whilst highlighting important new developments, in this article we argue that a focus on novel practices offers a distorted picture of modern campaigns. Presenting a unique analysis of over 22,720 separate items of expenditure ma…
Law (14 works) · Political science (14 works) · Politics (12 works) · Law (11 works) · Business (8 works) · Public relations (7 works) · Electoral Systems and Political Participation (6 works) · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies (6 works) · Social Media and Politics (6 works) · Sociology (6 works)