Ideological congruence between party rhetoric and policy-making

Bibliographic Data

ID6406038
AuthorsDaniel Bischof (0000-0001-9400-1001, University of Zurich, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume41
Issue2
Pages310-328
Publication date2018-03-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueWest European Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0140-2382 • E-ISSN: 1743-9655
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01402382.2017.1382213
OpenAlexW2764214294
LanguageEN
Citations received14
References cited51

Scholars, citizens and journalists alike question whether political parties keep their electoral promises. A growing body of literature provides empirical evidence that parties do indeed keep their electoral pledges. Yet little is known about the congruence between party rhetoric between elections and the policies delivered by them. Given the increasing influence of party rhetoric in the media with respect to voting decisions, it is highly relevant to understand if parties ‘walk like they talk’. The article suggests that due to electoral reasons parties face strong incentives to deliver policy outputs which are congruent to their daily rhetoric. Analysing data on 54 policy outputs on nuclear energy, drafted by 24 parties after the Fukushima accident, the analysis finds overwhelming evidence that parties deliver ideologically congruent policy outputs to their rhetoric (incongruent only in 7.89%). These findings have important implications for our understanding of the linkage between party communication and the masses in modern media democracies

Congruence (geometry · Economics · Empirical evidence · Epistemology · Ideology · Incentive · Law and economics · Market economy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Rhetoric · Sociology · Voting · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies · Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology

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