Nonnemacher, Jeffrey
(2024)
The Transnational Ties That Bind: Foreign Parties, Transnational Politics, and Voter Perceptions.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
Politics in the 21st century has grown increasingly inter-connected with voters and parties engaging more with information about what transpires abroad. In this project, I ask how voters update their perceptions of political parties in response to information about that party’s connections and allegiances to similar parties abroad. I explore related questions in three papers.
First, using data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems and the Comparative Manifesto Project, I argue that the closer a party is to the positions of its transnational party family’s brand, the more accurate voters will be in their assessment of the party’s position and find support for this argument. In the second paper, using data from the European Election Study, I argue that voters are more willing to support parties following a strong showing from the rest of their party family in preceding elections to the European Parliament. Finally, I develop a novel experiment in Norway and Sweden which takes strategic transnational branding a step further by examining the effect of a party intentionally linking itself to an ally abroad. In particular, I evaluate how hosting a party-family conference with leaders from the sister party which is in Germany’s current governing coalition influences the valence attributes associated with a party’s brand. I argue that by linking itself with the political brand of a foreign party that has achieved electoral success, a party’s reputation and perceived viability as a governing party, credibility to fulfill its pledges, and competency to address the most important issues facing the country all improve. The findings from my study do not, however, support my expectations setting the stage for future work that delves deeper into intra-party politics to explain the occurrence of transnational branding. These studies have important implications for our understanding of voter perceptions in an increasingly globalized political environment and serve as an important steppingstone for future study on how transnational politics affects voters and what drives parties to embrace their allies abroad.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
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| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
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| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
27 August 2024 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
23 April 2024 |
| Approval Date: |
27 August 2024 |
| Submission Date: |
22 May 2024 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
164 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Political Science |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
political branding; party family; party behavior; voter behavior; transnational politics |
| Date Deposited: |
27 Aug 2024 14:26 |
| Last Modified: |
27 Aug 2024 14:26 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/46427 |
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