Parties’ parliamentary attack behaviour throughout the electoral cycle

Poljak, Željko; Walter, Annemarie S.

Abstract

Studies examining parties’ attack behaviour, also called negative campaigning, largely neglect temporal dynamics. Therefoe, this paper examines how the electoral cycle, the period between two elections, impacts parties’ attack behaviour in parliaments. We argue that parties attack all the time but that the (i) level, (ii) type, and (iii) nature of attacks are affected by the electoral cycle as parties adapt their objectives. Analysing longitudinal data on parties’ attacks in the parliaments of Belgium, Croatia, and the UK (2010–2020), we find that when elections draw closer parties’ use of attacks, trait attacks, and uncivil attacks increases. We also find support for the notion that not all parties’ attack behaviour is equally impacted by the electoral cycle, as parties differ in sensitivity to the electoral cycle based on risk acceptance. Overall, the impact of the electoral cycle on parties’ strategic choices in general, and attack behaviour specifically, should not be ignored.

Citation

Poljak, Ž., & Walter, A. S. (2024). Parties’ parliamentary attack behaviour throughout the electoral cycle. Party Politics, 30(5), 920-933. https://doi.org/10.1177/13540688231188476

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 29, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Jul 7, 2023
• Publication Date: 2024-09
• Deposit Date: Aug 24, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 24, 2023
• Journal: Party Politics
• Print ISSN: 1354-0688
• Electronic ISSN: 1460-3683
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 30
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 920-933
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/13540688231188476
• Keywords: attacks, electoral cycle, negative campaigning, parliaments, party behaviour
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/23472639
• Publisher URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13540688231188476