Issue ownership as a determinant of negative campaigning
| Date | 01 March 2011 |
| Published date | 01 March 2011 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0192512110382028 |
| Author | Christian Elmelund-Præstekær |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Corresponding author:
Christian Elmelund-Præstekær, Department of Political Science and Public Management, University of Southern Denmark,
Campusvej 55, DK-5230 Odense M, Denmark.
Email: cel@sam.sdu.dk
Issue ownership as a determinant
of negative campaigning
Christian Elmelund-Præstekær
Abstract
Existing studies on the determinants of negative campaigning conclude that context matters as the degree of
positive and negative campaigning vary according to factors such as proximity to election day, poll standing,
incumbency status, and the size of the ‘war chest’. The present article discusses whether not only the context,
but also the content of campaigns needs to be considered when analysing why and when political par ties
go negative. The article argues that parties enjoying ownership of campaign issues tend to employ a more
positive rhetorical style than par ties with less ownership. Using four Danish election campaigns as cases,
this proposition is empirically supported: the degree of issue ownership is positively correlated with a
positive campaign tone, controlling for a range of traditional contextual factors. The new content factor
does not outperform the usual contextual suspects, but it adds nuance to the general understanding of the
determinants of negativity.
Keywords
negative campaigning, issue ownership, elections, Denmark, political communication, multiparty systems
Introduction
The dynamics of negative campaigning have been widely discussed and studied, especially in
American political science for the past two decades. We now know that candidates go negative
when they are behind in the polls (Harrington and Hess, 1996; Skaperdas and Grofman, 1995),
when they are in opposition (Kahn and Kenney, 1999: 93–7), when they have few resources, when
they are Democrats (Lau and Pomper, 2001), and when election day approaches (Damore, 2002).
Moreover, although candidates hesitate to initiate negativity, they are much more likely to respond
negatively to negative campaigns against themselves (Damore, 2002; Lau and Pomper, 2001).
Hence, the context of a campaign clearly matters. But what about the content of the campaign?
Do candidates adopt the same rhetorical strategy no matter what issue they are talking about?
Numerous election studies conclude that issues play an important role in contemporary election
campaigns, because voters to an increasing extent choose a party according to the party’s position
International Political Science Review
32(2) 209–221
© The Author(s) 2011
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DOI: 10.1177/0192512110382028
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