Alex Marland
Dados Biográficos
| ID | 4123737 |
|---|---|
| NOME | Alex Marland |
| PRENOMES | Alex |
| SOBRENOME | Marland |
| ASSINATURA | MARLAND A |
| AFILIAÇÕES | Memorial University of Newfoundland |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-8699-6766 |
| VERIFICADO | Sim |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 41 |
| TOTAL DE CITAÇÕES | 134 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 37 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 4 |
| PRIMEIRO ANO DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2003 |
| ANO MAIS RECENTE DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 6 |
Assessing the presidentialisation thesis
The ‘presidentialisation’ of prime ministers has become a prominent theory in political science, particularly within the study of executive politics. The central claim that prime ministers and their agents exert increasing authority over government has sparked considerable definitional and theoretical debate. Empirical testing, however, has largely been limited to case studies of individual leaders and countries. Using a reliable metric for prime…
The power of prime ministers
Do Parliamentary Roles Affect Lobbying Activities? Evidence from the Canadian House of Commons
In parliamentary systems, private members (i.e. backbenchers) with formal titles and roles can affect the institutional system in which politicians, civil servants and interest groups are embedded. Packing legislative institutions with backbenchers who act as agents of the government but who are not in Cabinet puts certain Members of Parliament in a privileged position with the core executive. We hypothesize that influential positions in Canada’s…
Retourner sa veste au Québec
Cet article aborde le phénomène des défections dans les partis politiques grâce à une étude du cas des députés québécois. Les entrevues avec les anciens parlementaires et une analyse des discours médiatiques à propos de leur départ documentent les motivations à quitter ou à rejoindre un autre parti. Cette recherche propose deux typologies novatrices : la première identifie les types de défections et la seconde explore les motivations à quitter. L…
Representation and Partisanship
What determines how Members of Parliament (MPs) and their staff frame their communications with all constituents in their electoral district? Prior research has suggested that constituency operations are one of the last bastions of freedom that MPs have from the full grasp of party discipline in Canada. If this remains true, MP communications with their constituents should reflect the MPs’ background or the constituency context and not their poli…
Evolution of a Government Photo Op
Background: Photo opportunities enable tight scripting and image control while catering to the media’s need for visual content. This research traces how, since 1955, Canadian finance ministers and the media have exhibited a uniquely Canadian interest in the minister’s budget day shoes. Analysis: A review of newspaper coverage about the federal budget indicates that news stories contributed to the myth of parliamentary tradition that evolved into …
Vetting of Election Candidates by Political Parties
Election candidates resigning when confronted by moral outrage over their indiscretions is now a routine aspect of Canadian elections. Often controversy is generated by opponents who conduct American-style opposition research and provide findings to the media. As a preventative measure, central party agents now subject their aspiring candidates to background scrutiny and reject applicants deemed likely to spark negative publicity. This article tr…
Public Branding and Marketing
Inside the Campaign
Political leaders are the public face of a party during an election campaign. But what type of work is conducted behind the scenes by lesser-known party members attempting to propel their leaders to victory at the federal level in Canada? Inside the Campaign is a behind-the-scenes look at the people involved in an election campaign and the work they do. Each chapter reveals how campaign staffers, as well as by those covering and organizing electi…
Suing Canadian governments
Challenges in distinguishing between core policy and operational decisions in the public policy process have spawned a legal grey area in Canadian public administration. Governments are immune from civil liability for policy decisions made by the cabinet yet they remain exposed to liability for operational decisions by public servants. We seek to raise awareness of this nexus within the Canadian public administration community by drawing on key i…
Scripted Messengers
Political parties with strict party discipline are well-placed to demand that their election candidates and legislators promote the party brand. The franchise-franchisee relationship causes representatives to relinquish individual expression in exchange for centralized party messaging. This article looks at how a strategic desire for party unity combines with internal brand management to turn lower-ranking politicians in a parliamentary system in…
Public Servant's Guide to Government in Canada
Fewer politicians and smaller assemblies
Scholars are unable to rationalise the number of elected representatives in legislative assemblies. This study offers some insights into the political arithmetic by examining the rare event of reducing seats in a legislature. It is hypothesised that a policy of cutting electoral districts occurs during a search for cost efficiencies and a burst of populism. Interviews with party elites involved with seven seat reduction events in Canadian provinc…
Open Access and Academic Journals in Canada
The push to implement Open Access (OA) as the new standard for academic research dissemination is creating very real pressures on academic journals. In Canada, the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) recently adopted a policy requiring that journals applying for its Aid to Scholarly Journals (ASJ) grant make their scholarly content freely accessible after no more than a 12-month delay. For journals such as the Canadian Journal …
Want to Interview a Politician? Ways to Prepare for Digital Vetting by Political Staffers
This article outlines how the advent of digital-communications technology, particularly social media, has contributed to an increased wariness by political elites to grant interviews to researchers. Errant remarks, misquotes, and comments taken out of context can exact a heavy price. Thus, politicians and their gatekeepers are far more cautious and risk averse than in decades past, which puts qualitative research methods—and the rich data they pr…
Negotiating with gatekeepers to get interviews with politicians
This article tackles the puzzle of the best practices to acquire an interview with a politician. It seeks to assist researchers who must persuade gatekeepers in busy political offices to present an elected representative with an interview request. Our research is based on a copious review of the literature and is punctuated by fresh insights collected via interviews with 32 academics, journalists and political staff in six countries. We argue tha…
Political Elites in Canada
Political Elites in Canada offers a timely look at Canadian politics and how power brokers are adapting to a fast-paced digital media environment. Elite power structures are changing worldwide, and the rise and fall of political influencers permeates national headlines. In many areas, traditional elites are losing authority over prevailing social, economic, and political structures. Communication between and among elites and citizens is having dr…
Political Elites in the Age of Digital Media
Above and below the line
This research note examines “below the line” media relations planning templates that are used to coordinate the release of government information, such as communications plans, event proposals and social media calendars. Methodological pathways to collect data through access to information are discussed. Templates and guidelines obtained from Canadian federal, provincial and territorial governments are classified into six phases of production: pl…
Governance in the Age of Digital Media and Branding
The politicization of government communications requires intense control. Centralization of government power accompanies advances in information and communications technology, as political elites use branding strategy in an attempt to impose discipline on their messengers and on media coverage. The strategic appeal of public sector branding is that it replaces conflicting messages with penetrating message reinforcement. Among the notable features…
Journal Publishing and Marketing in an Age of Digital Media, Open Access and Impact Factors
Worldwide, the publishing industry has been compelled to change with digital media technology, and some traditional academic journals are struggling to adapt. This article examines the marketing and publicity actions available to theCanadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politiqueand similar flagship journals in an environment characterized by open access (OA) and impact factor (IF) metrics. It reviews the opportunities…
Brand Command
The pursuit of political power is strategic as never before. Ministers, MPs, and candidates parrot the same catchphrases. The public service has become politicized. And decision making is increasingly centralized in the Prime Minister’s Office. What is happening to our democracy? In this persuasive book, Alex argues that political parties and government are beholden to the same marketing principles used by the world’s largest corporations. Called…
Strategic Management of Media Relations
This article exposes the strategic planning of government personnel as they prepare to engage in media management and spin. It presents the findings of in-depth interviews with 17 Conservative-era insiders and more than 100 internal planning instruments obtained during the nascent period of Liberal governance under Justin Trudeau. Inward-facing media enquiry processing forms, media relations strategies, communications calendars, and rollout plans…
Communication, Strategy, and Politics
Publicity and the Canadian State
Governance in the Age of Digital Media and Branding
The politicization of government communications requires intense control. Centralization of government power accompanies advances in information and communications technology, as political elites use branding strategy in an attempt to impose discipline on their messengers and on media coverage. The strategic appeal of public sector branding is that it replaces conflicting messages with penetrating message reinforcement. Among the notable features…
Political Photography, Journalism, and Framing in the Digital Age
In the digital age, journalists are becoming more susceptible to the packaged visuals of politicians that image handlers are pushing electronically in an attempt to circumvent and influence the mainstream media. These managed photos and videos communicate officialdom, voyeurism, and pseudo-events, ranging from routine government business to a personal side of political leaders. They are designed to frame the subject in a positive light and to pro…
Brand New Party
Little has been written about the use of branding by Canadian political parties. We draw on interviews with 30 party elites to document the branding of the Conservative party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. We disclose that preparations to re-brand the Canadian Alliance party were subsumed into the new party and that the colour of the maple leaf in the Conservative logo was a contentious topic because of its political symbolism. We conclude that par…
Negotiating with gatekeepers to get interviews with politicians
This article tackles the puzzle of the best practices to acquire an interview with a politician. It seeks to assist researchers who must persuade gatekeepers in busy political offices to present an elected representative with an interview request. Our research is based on a copious review of the literature and is punctuated by fresh insights collected via interviews with 32 academics, journalists and political staff in six countries. We argue tha…
Marketing political soap
This paper examines three common political expressions and ideas from a marketing perspective. First, the origins of the ‘selling candidates like soap’ expression are traced and it is argued that, rather than being ‘sold’ like a product, candidates are instead ‘marketed’ like a service provider such as a real estate agent. Traditional campaign rituals have a legitimate marketing function if electors, and not just political actors, are meaningfull…
Scripted Messengers
Political parties with strict party discipline are well-placed to demand that their election candidates and legislators promote the party brand. The franchise-franchisee relationship causes representatives to relinquish individual expression in exchange for centralized party messaging. This article looks at how a strategic desire for party unity combines with internal brand management to turn lower-ranking politicians in a parliamentary system in…
Fewer politicians and smaller assemblies
Scholars are unable to rationalise the number of elected representatives in legislative assemblies. This study offers some insights into the political arithmetic by examining the rare event of reducing seats in a legislature. It is hypothesised that a policy of cutting electoral districts occurs during a search for cost efficiencies and a burst of populism. Interviews with party elites involved with seven seat reduction events in Canadian provinc…
From Opposition to Government
Little is known about the negotiations behind closed doors that culminate in the fusion of political parties. This detailed study of the creation of the Conservative Party of Canada draws on data collected through depth interviews with 32 merger participants, including party negotiators. The findings are organised around four notional stages: the war of attrition, acceptance by leaders that merger is necessary, the negotiations and the agreement'…
The nature of political advising to prime ministers in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK
Political advisors to heads of government occupy such a privileged sphere of influence that their role is a source of consternation among democratic idealists. Interviews with advisors to prime ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK inform a small body of comparative literature about political advising in the Commonwealth. The authors find that first ministers consider input from many advisors and therefore the counsel of any one …
Representation and Partisanship
What determines how Members of Parliament (MPs) and their staff frame their communications with all constituents in their electoral district? Prior research has suggested that constituency operations are one of the last bastions of freedom that MPs have from the full grasp of party discipline in Canada. If this remains true, MP communications with their constituents should reflect the MPs’ background or the constituency context and not their poli…
Journal Publishing and Marketing in an Age of Digital Media, Open Access and Impact Factors
Worldwide, the publishing industry has been compelled to change with digital media technology, and some traditional academic journals are struggling to adapt. This article examines the marketing and publicity actions available to theCanadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politiqueand similar flagship journals in an environment characterized by open access (OA) and impact factor (IF) metrics. It reviews the opportunities…
Canadian Political Consultants’ Perspectives about Political Marketing
This research in brief explores Canadian political consultants’ practices in political marketing, exploring whether they are, as democratic critiques of marketing often argue, encouraging politics to become poll-driven, and whether they fit into previous international studies on consultants in other countries, especially the United States. Drawing upon qualitative data collected from interviews with key practitioners in Canada and from Canadian n…
If Seals Were Ugly, Nobody Would Give a Damn
The provocative debate over the Canadian seal hunt features emotional imagery, selective use of facts, a media relations battle, and political lobbying. This paper explores different forms of propaganda employed in the sealing controversy by animal rights groups and by the governments of Canada and of Newfoundland. It argues that Newfoundland nationalism is a central variable. This perspective can help gauge the effects of propaganda and explain …
Strategic Management of Media Relations
This article exposes the strategic planning of government personnel as they prepare to engage in media management and spin. It presents the findings of in-depth interviews with 17 Conservative-era insiders and more than 100 internal planning instruments obtained during the nascent period of Liberal governance under Justin Trudeau. Inward-facing media enquiry processing forms, media relations strategies, communications calendars, and rollout plans…
Media Management in a Small Polity
Little is known about how elected representatives attempt to manipulate public opinion and news media through their participation on regional open line radio or media straw polls. This article examines the systematic attempts by political actors to engage these media in the small polity of Newfoundland, Canada, where politics is characterized by the hyper-local nature of 590-VOCM radio programming. Our mixed-method study draws from talk radio cal…
Investigating political marketing using mixed method
This article is a response to calls for new research methods in the study of political marketing. We submit that the mixed method approach to studying how political parties use opinion research and political communication is underused. More specifically we believe that campaign spending data, which are commonly analyzed in electoral studies, can become a significant source of information for the study of political marketing. We summarize the avai…
Retourner sa veste au Québec
Cet article aborde le phénomène des défections dans les partis politiques grâce à une étude du cas des députés québécois. Les entrevues avec les anciens parlementaires et une analyse des discours médiatiques à propos de leur départ documentent les motivations à quitter ou à rejoindre un autre parti. Cette recherche propose deux typologies novatrices : la première identifie les types de défections et la seconde explore les motivations à quitter. L…
Open Access and Academic Journals in Canada
The push to implement Open Access (OA) as the new standard for academic research dissemination is creating very real pressures on academic journals. In Canada, the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) recently adopted a policy requiring that journals applying for its Aid to Scholarly Journals (ASJ) grant make their scholarly content freely accessible after no more than a 12-month delay. For journals such as the Canadian Journal …
Want to Interview a Politician? Ways to Prepare for Digital Vetting by Political Staffers
This article outlines how the advent of digital-communications technology, particularly social media, has contributed to an increased wariness by political elites to grant interviews to researchers. Errant remarks, misquotes, and comments taken out of context can exact a heavy price. Thus, politicians and their gatekeepers are far more cautious and risk averse than in decades past, which puts qualitative research methods—and the rich data they pr…
Above and below the line
This research note examines “below the line” media relations planning templates that are used to coordinate the release of government information, such as communications plans, event proposals and social media calendars. Methodological pathways to collect data through access to information are discussed. Templates and guidelines obtained from Canadian federal, provincial and territorial governments are classified into six phases of production: pl…
Marketing political soap
This paper examines three common political expressions and ideas from a marketing perspective. First, the origins of the ‘selling candidates like soap’ expression are traced and it is argued that, rather than being ‘sold’ like a product, candidates are instead ‘marketed’ like a service provider such as a real estate agent. Traditional campaign rituals have a legitimate marketing function if electors, and not just political actors, are meaningfull…
Masters of Our Own Destiny
Within Canada, the strength of Newfoundland and Labrador’s nationalism is perhaps second only to Quebec’s, and its regionalism is most comparable to Alberta’s. Since Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949, its premiers have alternated styles of exerting political pressure on the federal government and its representatives. Most recently, Premier Danny Williams has used unconventional means to obtain new revenue streams whilst, as with his charismatic …
The audience is listening
Political Marketing in Canada
Canadian Political Consultants’ Perspectives about Political Marketing
This research in brief explores Canadian political consultants’ practices in political marketing, exploring whether they are, as democratic critiques of marketing often argue, encouraging politics to become poll-driven, and whether they fit into previous international studies on consultants in other countries, especially the United States. Drawing upon qualitative data collected from interviews with key practitioners in Canada and from Canadian n…
Political Photography, Journalism, and Framing in the Digital Age
In the digital age, journalists are becoming more susceptible to the packaged visuals of politicians that image handlers are pushing electronically in an attempt to circumvent and influence the mainstream media. These managed photos and videos communicate officialdom, voyeurism, and pseudo-events, ranging from routine government business to a personal side of political leaders. They are designed to frame the subject in a positive light and to pro…
Research in Brief
This article advances an argument that within small polities local political talk radio may be treated as a barometer of public opinion. Survey research and media monitoring spending data were collected from provincial government departments across Canada. The data indicate that larger provinces turn to opinion polls, that the Quebec government is a heavy user of media monitoring services and that, in particular, government elites in Newfoundland…
Investigating political marketing using mixed method
This article is a response to calls for new research methods in the study of political marketing. We submit that the mixed method approach to studying how political parties use opinion research and political communication is underused. More specifically we believe that campaign spending data, which are commonly analyzed in electoral studies, can become a significant source of information for the study of political marketing. We summarize the avai…
Brand New Party
Little has been written about the use of branding by Canadian political parties. We draw on interviews with 30 party elites to document the branding of the Conservative party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. We disclose that preparations to re-brand the Canadian Alliance party were subsumed into the new party and that the colour of the maple leaf in the Conservative logo was a contentious topic because of its political symbolism. We conclude that par…
Political Communication in Canada
Changes in technology and media consumption are transforming the way people communicate about politics. Are they also changing the way politicians communicate to the public? Political Communication in Canada examines the way political parties, politicians, interest groups, the media, and citizens are using new tactics, tools, and channels to disseminate information, and also investigates the implications of these changes. Drawing on recent exampl…
The Branding of a Prime Minister
If Seals Were Ugly, Nobody Would Give a Damn
The provocative debate over the Canadian seal hunt features emotional imagery, selective use of facts, a media relations battle, and political lobbying. This paper explores different forms of propaganda employed in the sealing controversy by animal rights groups and by the governments of Canada and of Newfoundland. It argues that Newfoundland nationalism is a central variable. This perspective can help gauge the effects of propaganda and explain …
The nature of political advising to prime ministers in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK
Political advisors to heads of government occupy such a privileged sphere of influence that their role is a source of consternation among democratic idealists. Interviews with advisors to prime ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK inform a small body of comparative literature about political advising in the Commonwealth. The authors find that first ministers consider input from many advisors and therefore the counsel of any one …
Communication, Strategy, and Politics
Publicity and the Canadian State
Media Management in a Small Polity
Little is known about how elected representatives attempt to manipulate public opinion and news media through their participation on regional open line radio or media straw polls. This article examines the systematic attempts by political actors to engage these media in the small polity of Newfoundland, Canada, where politics is characterized by the hyper-local nature of 590-VOCM radio programming. Our mixed-method study draws from talk radio cal…
Whatever Happened to the Music Teacher? How Government Decides and Why, Donald J. Savoie , Montreal & Kingston
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
From Opposition to Government
Little is known about the negotiations behind closed doors that culminate in the fusion of political parties. This detailed study of the creation of the Conservative Party of Canada draws on data collected through depth interviews with 32 merger participants, including party negotiators. The findings are organised around four notional stages: the war of attrition, acceptance by leaders that merger is necessary, the negotiations and the agreement'…
Brand Command
The pursuit of political power is strategic as never before. Ministers, MPs, and candidates parrot the same catchphrases. The public service has become politicized. And decision making is increasingly centralized in the Prime Minister’s Office. What is happening to our democracy? In this persuasive book, Alex argues that political parties and government are beholden to the same marketing principles used by the world’s largest corporations. Called…
Strategic Management of Media Relations
This article exposes the strategic planning of government personnel as they prepare to engage in media management and spin. It presents the findings of in-depth interviews with 17 Conservative-era insiders and more than 100 internal planning instruments obtained during the nascent period of Liberal governance under Justin Trudeau. Inward-facing media enquiry processing forms, media relations strategies, communications calendars, and rollout plans…
Above and below the line
This research note examines “below the line” media relations planning templates that are used to coordinate the release of government information, such as communications plans, event proposals and social media calendars. Methodological pathways to collect data through access to information are discussed. Templates and guidelines obtained from Canadian federal, provincial and territorial governments are classified into six phases of production: pl…
Governance in the Age of Digital Media and Branding
The politicization of government communications requires intense control. Centralization of government power accompanies advances in information and communications technology, as political elites use branding strategy in an attempt to impose discipline on their messengers and on media coverage. The strategic appeal of public sector branding is that it replaces conflicting messages with penetrating message reinforcement. Among the notable features…
Journal Publishing and Marketing in an Age of Digital Media, Open Access and Impact Factors
Worldwide, the publishing industry has been compelled to change with digital media technology, and some traditional academic journals are struggling to adapt. This article examines the marketing and publicity actions available to theCanadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politiqueand similar flagship journals in an environment characterized by open access (OA) and impact factor (IF) metrics. It reviews the opportunities…
Political Elites in Canada
Political Elites in Canada offers a timely look at Canadian politics and how power brokers are adapting to a fast-paced digital media environment. Elite power structures are changing worldwide, and the rise and fall of political influencers permeates national headlines. In many areas, traditional elites are losing authority over prevailing social, economic, and political structures. Communication between and among elites and citizens is having dr…
Political Elites in the Age of Digital Media
Political science (35 obras) · Politics (30 obras) · Law (28 obras) · Sociology (22 obras) · Law (19 obras) · Public relations (18 obras) · Public Administration (17 obras) · Public Administration (15 obras) · Business (13 obras) · Social Media and Politics (11 obras)