The “Americanization” of Political Communication

Abstract

This article examines the notion of the “Americanization” of political and campaign communication. Beginning with the literature on the evolution of political communication practices in the United States and their adoption in other political systems, We explore the significance of the seeming convergence of practices and the implications for future patterns of political communication and sociopolitical development. Finally, we seek to link the notion of the Americanization of politics with a discussion of the “modernization” of societies.

The professionals speak: Practitioners’ perspectives on professional election campaigning

“…Studies have refuted the influence from US campaigns and specialist consultants who operate across nations, arguing that innovations emerge locally and simultaneous to developments in the United States. Only minimal evidence exists in direct replication (Baines and Egan, 2001;Holtz-Bacha, 2007;Negrine, 2008;Negrine and Papathanassopoulos, 1996). Although studies recognize some influence from practice in the United States, they acknowledge that the innovations are influenced by their local political, social and media environment (e.g.…”

American Campaign Techniques Worldwide

“…Thus Americanization is seen as a synonym for modernization and professionalization. Accordingly, what is happening between the United States and Western Europe or Latin America is a process of nondirectional convergence, which results in an increased similarity between the political communication process in media-centered democracies (Gunther and Mughan 2000;Negrine and Papathanassopoulos 1996;Norris 2000;Swanson and Mancini 1996). "Developments in campaign communication can therefore best be understood as part of the modernization process rooted in technological, economic and political developments common in many societies.…”

“…They consider the Americanization of election communications to be the consequence of an ongoing structural change in politics, society, and the media system (Negrine and Papathanassopoulos 1996). The fragmentation of the public sphere linked to these changes leads to a higher degree of specialization and professionalization among the actors of political communications.…”

Government strategic communication in the democratic transition of Chile

“…A case in point is the process of the increasing presidentialization of communications and the emphasis on improving presidential approval ratings, which have been largely described in the literature worldwide (Poguntke & Webb, 2005). Similarly, the increasing allocation of resources and the relevance of public opinion were in keeping with worldwide characteristics of contemporary political communication, usually linked to what many authors have labelled as Americanization of politics and communication (Negrine & Papathanassopoulos, 1996). In addition, other international trends were the development of both new forms of communicating with citizens that was less engaged in politics and a divergent agenda between the government and the media.…”