Promises Made, Promises Kept?

Nyhet

Democratic Politics in a Globalized World

Inbunden, Engelska, 2026

1 949 kr

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Using an innovative mix of cross-national analyses, original survey experiments, and detailed case studies across advanced democracies, Promises Made, Promises Kept provides a compelling exploration of how globalization constrains domestic politics and transforms the nature of democratic representation. The authors show how globalization reduces the ability of governing parties to keep their campaign promises, and how parties strategically adapt to this by making vaguer promises or shifting their rhetoric to manage voter expectations. These adaptations have significant consequences: they reshape democratic competition and have contributed to the growing appeal of populist messaging. This timely and accessible book offers fresh insight into why promises are broken, how parties adapt under pressure, and what this means for voters, institutions, and the future of democratic politics. Essential reading for anyone concerned with the health of democracy in an interdependent world. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2026-07-31
Vikt500 g
FormatInbunden
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor270
FörlagCambridge University Press
ISBN9781009749695

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Christina J. Schneider is Professor of Political Science at University of California, San Diego and author of Conflict, Negotiation and European Union Enlargement (Cambridge University Press, 2008) and The Responsive Union (Cambridge University Press, 2018), an award-winning book. She has held positions at Oxford, Princeton, and the Max Planck Institute of Economics. Robert Thomson is Professor of Politics at the University of Hong Kong. His research focuses on international comparisons of democratic representation, policymaking and international governance. He co-founded the Comparative Pledges Project, an international research program on parties' election campaign promises.

Acknowledgements; Part I. Democratic Representation and the Constraints of Globalization: 1. The modern challenge of representation; 2. Campaign promises and accountability; 3. Rethinking governments' autonomy in a globalized world; Part II. Keeping and Breaking Campaign Promises: 4. Globalization and broken promises; 5. The UK Conservative Party's promise on net migration; 6. The electoral consequences of promise breaking; Part III. Making Campaign Promises: 7. The ideological positions behind parties' campaign promises; 8. Populist appeals as a conservative strategy; Part IV. Blame Avoidance and the Future of Democratic Representation: 9. Blurring the clarity of political communication with Theodoros Ntounias; 10. The effects of ambiguity on accountability; 11. The future of democratic representation; References; Index.

'This is the best book to date on the effect of globalization on democracy. Schneider and Thomson demonstrate that globalization has led mainstream parties to break electoral promises, move to the centre, use more ambiguous language, and so undermine the central mechanisms of electoral accountability. Not surprisingly, many voters are tempted by the simple and nationalist promises of populist politicians. The solution, they contend, is that mainstream parties adopt clearer policy positions on things they know they can deliver. Whether that will be enough to restore democracy and address inequalities caused by globalization is for future investigation.' Simon Hix, Stein Rokkan Chair in Comparative Politics, European University Institute