Doctoral Dissertation Research in Political Science: Campaign Strategy in Multi-Ethnic Democracies

主要研究者：Karen Ferree and Jeremy horowitz题目：博士论文研究：多民族民主国家的竞选策略[j][0719854]民主选举是否加剧了多元社会中的民族紧张关系？为了调查为什么选举竞争有时会导致种族两极分化，本项目侧重于政党和候选人在将种族分裂政治化方面所起的作用。它试图理解为什么一些政党利用这种分裂来动员支持者，而另一些政党则对其轻描淡写。该项目考察了人口和政治因素的变化如何影响竞选策略。根据经验，该项目收集了肯尼亚总统和议会候选人所使用的竞选信息数据。由此产生的数据集将用于检查鼓励或阻止分裂种族诉求的因素。通过关注一个国家的次国家差异，该项目保持制度因素不变，从而有可能研究人口和政治因素如何影响竞选决策。它还超越了目前的研究，收集了大量候选人竞选信息内容的详细数据。该项目通过创建一个将提供给其他研究人员和合作者的独特数据集，为创新研究开辟了进一步的途径。通过与内罗毕大学的合作，它为代表性不足的群体的参与创造了机会。最后，通过调查影响竞选策略的因素，该项目有助于在种族分裂的社会中鼓励温和和稳定。

Primary Investigators: Karen Ferree and Jeremy HorowitzTitle: Doctoral Dissertation Research: Campaign Strategy in Multi-Ethnic Democracies0719854AbstractDo democratic elections heighten ethnic tension in plural societies? To investigate why electoral competition sometimes leads to ethnic polarization, this project focuses on the role that political parties and candidates play in politicizing ethnic cleavages. It seeks to understand why some parties exploit such cleavages to mobilize supporters while others downplay them. The project examines how variation in demographic and political factors affects campaign strategy. Empirically, the project collects data on campaign messages employed by presidential and parliamentary candidates in Kenya. The resulting dataset will be used to examine the factors that encourage or discourage divisive ethnic appeals. By focusing on sub-national variation within one country, the project holds institutional factors constant, making it possible to examine how demographic and political factors affect campaign decisions. It also goes beyond current studies by collecting detailed data on the content of campaign messages employed by a large number of candidates. The project opens further avenues for innovative research by creating a unique dataset that will be made available to other researchers and collaborators. Through collaboration with the University of Nairobi, it creates opportunities for the participation of underrepresented groups. Finally, by investigating the factors that affect campaign strategy, this project contributes to efforts to encourage moderation and stability in ethnically divided societies.