Why don’t citizens give governments credit when they deliver on electoral pledges

Bibliographic Data

ID6326166
AuthorsPascal D König (0000-0001-9466-4024, University of Kaiserslautern), Markus B Siewert (0000-0002-8710-531X, Bavarian School for Public Policy, TU Munich, Germany)
Year2020
Volume48
Issue3
Pages503-519
Publication date2020-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolicy & Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0305-5736 • E-ISSN: 1470-8442
PublisherBristol University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1332/030557320x15786201228120
OpenAlexW3006518872
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited60

Why don’t citizens give governments credit when they deliver on electoral pledges? This article develops an original analytical framework that addresses this important but under-researched question. It focuses on the concept of ‘credit claiming’, which is the opposite of ‘blame shifting’, and draws together existing research to identify a number of significant hurdles that governments must overcome in order to gain recognition for achievements. It highlights the challenges which policymakers face in communicating with citizens in an increasingly mediatised public sphere, and the extent to which their credit claiming efforts rely on the media as a ‘transmission belt’. It concludes that in liberal democracies governments are fighting an uphill battle to gain citizens’ support and secure trust in broader democratic institutions and the political system as a whole

Battle · Blame · Business · Democracy · Economics · Face (sociological concept · Order (exchange · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Social science · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies · Political Systems and Governance · Public Administration · Finance

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