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RESEARCH PRODUCT
Start Spreading the News: A Comparative Experiment on the Effects of Populist Communication on Political Engagement in Sixteen European Countries
Joerg MatthesLinda BosClaes H. De VreeseJesper StrömbäckCarsten ReinemannRosa BerganzaChristian SchemerAgnieszka HessAnne SchulzHajo G. BoomgaardenTamir ShaeferNicoleta CorbuSusana SalgadoElena Negrea-busuiocSigne RingdalEvangelia KartsounidouNaama Weiss-yanivJane SuiterCristina CremonesiMichael HameleersDesirée SchmuckSofia AxelssonKeren Tenenboim-weinblattToril AalbergNayla FawziStefan DahlbergDominika KasprowiczKaren SandersIoannis Andreadissubject
Left and rightSociology and Political SciencePolitical Sciencemedia_common.quotation_subjectexperimental researchSocial Sciences050801 communication & media studiespolitical engagementCOLLECTIVE IDENTITYSTYLEsocial identity framingPolitics0508 media and communicationsGovernment & LawMedie- och kommunikationsvetenskapPolitical science050602 political science & public administrationResearch Articlesmedia_commonPopulisminternationally comparative researchCommunicationpopulist communication05 social sciencesPolitical engagementMedia and CommunicationsDifferential effectspopulism0506 political sciencePeer reviewTest (assessment)PopulismPolitical economyUnemploymentdescription
Although populist communication has become pervasive throughout Europe, many important questions on its political consequences remain unanswered. First, previous research has neglected the differential effects of populist communication on the Left and Right. Second, internationally comparative studies are missing. Finally, previous research mostly studied attitudinal outcomes, neglecting behavioral effects. To address these key issues, this paper draws on a unique, extensive, and comparative experiment in sixteen European countries (N = 15,412) to test the effects of populist communication on political engagement. The findings show that anti-elitist populism has the strongest mobilizing effects, and anti-immigrant messages have the strongest demobilizing effects. Moreover, national conditions such as the level of unemployment and the electoral success of the populist Left and Right condition the impact of populist communication. These findings provide important insights into the persuasiveness of populist messages spread throughout the European continent. © The Author(s) 2018. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-10-01 |