The permanent campaign in social media: A case study of Poland

Authors:
Dorota Domalewska, War Studies University, Faculty of National Defence, Warsaw, Poland

Abstract:

New media technologies provide new venues for political communication enabling politicians to wage a permanent campaign. Participatory platforms have paved the way for new forms of political communication during non-election period when those seeking or holding office can increase media coverage, create their public image and foster deeper relationships with the public. The purpose of the paper is to contribute to the discussion on permanent campaign; specifically, the study focuses on presenting the method of embracing new media technologies (in particular Twitter) by politicians’ during a non-election period in Poland. The analysis aims to investigate online activity, the design of Twitter profiles and the implementation of campaign-like techniques by the politicians. The findings shed light on the Polish MPs’ application of participatory platforms as a tool of strategic communication used to increase media visibility, and share messages across in a one-way communication.

References:

[1] ANDUIZA, E., CANTIJOCH, M. & GALLEGO, A., Political Participation and the Internet -- a Field Essay. Information, Communication & Society, Vol 12, No 6, pp. 860 – 878, 2009. [2] ANNUSEWICZ, O., Celebrytyzacja Polityczna, in: Studia Politologiczne, 20, 268-278, 2011. [3] BISKUP, B., Komunikowanie Polityczne w Tradycyjnych i Internetowych Serwisach Informacyjnych – Analiza Przejawów Kultury Politycznej przed Wyborami Prezydenckimi w Polsce w 2010 Roku, in: Studia Politologiczne, 26, 109-131, 2011. [4] BLUMENTHAL, S. L., The Permanent Campaign: Inside the World of Elite Political Operatives. Boston, Beacon Press 1980. [5] BRUNS, A., and BURGESS, J., #ausvotes: How Twitter Covered the 2010 Australian Federal Election, in: Communication, Politics and Culture, 44(2), 37, 2011. [6] CASTELLS, M., The Internet Galaxy: Reflections on the Internet, Business and Society, New York, 2002. [7] CORRADO, A., Running Backward: The Congressional Money Chase, in: N. Ornstein and T. Mann (eds), The Permanent Campaign and its Future, Washington DC: American Enterprise Institute and the Brookings Institute, pp. 75-107, 2000. [8] DAVIS, R., BAUMGARTNER, J. C., FRANCIA, P. L., and MORRIS, J. S., The Internet in US Election Campaigns, in: Routledge Handbook of Internet Politics, 25-39, 2009. [9] D’HEER, E., and VERDEGEM, P., An Intermedia Understanding of the Networked Twitter Ecology, in: B. Pătruţ, M. Pătruţ (eds) Social Media in Politics, Springer, Cham, 81-96, 2014. [10] EDWARDS, G., Campaigning is not Governing: Bill Clinton’s Rhetorical Presidency, in: C. Campbell and B. Rockman (eds) The Clinton Legacy, London, 33-47, 1999. [11] GIBSON, R. K. and MCALLISTER, I., Does Cyber-campaigning Win Votes? Online Communication in the 2004 Australian Election, in: Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties, 16(3), 243-263, 2006. [12] GILMORE, J., Ditching the Pack: Digital Media in the 2010 Brazilian Congressional Campaigns, in: New Media and Society, 14(4), 617-633, 2012. [13] HANSEN, K. M., and KOSIARA-PEDERSEN, K., Cyber-campaigning in Denmark: Application and Effects of Candidate Campaigning, in: Journal of Information Technology and Politics, 11(2), 206-219, 2014. [14] HECLO, H., Campaigning and Governing: A Conspectus, in: N. Ornstein and T. Mann (eds) The Permanent Campaign and its Future, Washington, 1-37, 2000. [15] JEZIŃSKI, M., Po co Politykom Nowe Media? O Politycznym Istnieniu w Wirtualnej Przestrzeni, in: Nowe Media. Czasopismo Naukowe, 2, 11-30, 2011. [16] KANCIK, E., Budowanie Wizerunku – Strony Internetowe Polskich Partii Politycznych, in: M. Wincławska (ed.) Partie Polityczne w Początkach XXI Wieku. Problemy Rozwoju, Organizacji i Funkcjonowania, Toruń, 2013. [17] LARSSON, A. O., Online, all the Time? A Quantitative Assessment of the Permanent Campaign on Facebook, in: New Media and Society, 18(2), 274-292, 2016. [18] LESZCZUK-FIEDZIUKIEWICZ, A., Internet jako Narzędzie Kreowania Wizerunku Polityka, in: Nowe Media. Czasopismo Naukowe, 2, 31-54, 2011. [19] NOWINA-KONOPKA, M., Rola Internetu w Rozwoju Demokracji w Polsce, Kraków – Nowy Sącz, 2008. [20] PIONTEK, D., Komunikowanie Polityczne i Kultura Popularna. Tabloidyzacja Informacji o Polityce, Poznań, 2011. [21] SCAMMEL, M., The Media and Media Management, in: A. Seldon (ed.) The Blair Effect, London, 509-533, 2001. [22] SMITH, J. F., Obama Adopting Permanent Campaign Strategy, Boston, 2009. [23] SOBACI, M. Z., ERYIGIT, K. Y., and HATIPOGLU, I., The Net Effect of Social Media on Election Results: The Case of Twitter in 2014 Turkish Local Elections, in: Social Media and Local Governments, 265-279, 2009. [24] STRANDBERG, K., Online Campaigning: An Opening for the Outsiders? An Analysis of Finnish Parliamentary Candidates’ Websites in the 2003 Election Campaign, in: New Media and Society, 11(5), 835-854, 2009. [25] VERGEER, M. and HERMANS, L., Campaigning on Twitter: Microblogging and Online Social Networking as Campaign Tools in the 2010 General Elections in the Netherlands, in: Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 2013. [26] WARD, S. J., GIBSON, R. K., LUSOLI, W., Online Participation and Mobilization in Britain: Hype, Hope and Reality, in: Parliament Affairs, 56(4), 652-668, 2003. [27] WEINER, M. D., The Party’s Still on: American Political Parties from 1950 to 2005, in: R. A. Harris, D. J. Tichenor (eds) A History of the U.S. Political System, Santa Barbara, 22-40, 2010. [28] ZARĘBA, A., Permanent Campaign in Poland – Causes, Elements, Importance, in: Political Preferences 13, 97-113, 2016.

Publication:

Central and Eastern European e|Dem and e|Gov Days 2018

Including a Workshop on Smart Cities organized by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe
Proceedings of the Central and Eastern European E|Dem and E|Gov Days, May 3-4, 2018, Budapest
Facultas, 1. Ed. (14 May 2018), 506 p.
ISBN-10: 9783708917375,
ISBN-13: 978-3708917375,
ASIN: 3708917375506

Editors: Hendrik Hansen, Robert Müller-Török, András Nemeslaki, Alexander Prosser, Dona Scola, Tamás Szádeczky