The political message of non-politician presidential candidates: A framework for analysis | Intellect Skip to content
1981
Volume 10, Issue 1-2
  • ISSN: 1757-2681
  • E-ISSN: 1757-269X

Abstract

Donald J. Trump’s unlikely ascension to the US presidency has highlighted the scholarly need to study the political messaging of non-politician presidential candidates, as his successful run seems likely to inspire additional non-politicians to launch presidential bids in the future, both in the United States and in other polities, with unforeseeable consequences for political messaging – particularly the limits of what is permissible political speech, the electoral process and voter representation. This article makes a contribution to filling this gap that exists in the literature by developing a framework for analysing the political message of non-politician presidential candidates. While the article focuses on non-politician presidential candidates in the United States, the theory it develops is general and should be applicable or adaptable to other presidential, and possibly non-presidential, regimes as well.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/iscc.10.1-2.7_1
2019-07-01
2024-04-24
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. ABC News ( 2016;), ‘ FULL TEXT: Donald Trump’s 2016 republican national convention speech. ’, transcript , 22 July, http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/full-text-donald-trumps-2016-republican-national-convention/story?id=40786529. Accessed 18 June 2017.
  2. Abramowitz, Alan. I.. ( 2013;), ‘ The electoral roots of America’s dysfunctional government. ’, Presidential Studies Quarterly, 43:4, pp. 70931.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Almond, Gabriel. ( 1956;), ‘ Comparative political systems. ’, The Journal of Politics, 18:3, pp. 391409.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Ambar, Saladin M.. ( 2014;), ‘ The rise of Sunbelt governors: Conservative outsiders in the White House. ’, Presidential Studies Quarterly, 44:1, pp. 7294.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Andersen, Kristi. ( 1979), The Creation of a Democratic Majority, 1928-1936, Chicago, IL:: University of Chicago Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. ANES ( 2017), Guide to Public Opinion and Electoral Behavior, Ann Arbor, MI:: University of Michigan;, http://www.electionstudies.org/nesguide/gd-index.htm. Accessed 18 June 2017.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Barr, Robert R.. ( 2009;), ‘ Populists, outsiders and anti-establishment politics. ’, Party Politics, 15:1, pp. 2948.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Bartolini, Stefano. ( 2000), The Political Mobilization of the European Left, 1860–1980, Cambridge:: Cambridge University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Bimes, Terry. ( 2009;), ‘ Understanding the rhetorical presidency. ’, in G. C. Edwards, and W. G. Howell. (eds), The Oxford Handbook of the American Presidency, Oxford:: Oxford University Press;, pp. 20831.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Black, Earle, and Black, Merle. ( 2003), The Rise of Southern Republicans, Cambridge, MA:: Harvard University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Boczkowski, Pablo J., and Papacharissi, Zizi. (eds) ( 2018), Trump and the Media, Cambridge, MA:: MIT Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Bryce, James. ( 1921), Modern Democracies, vol. 1, New York:: Macmillan;.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Budge, Ian,, Robertson, David, and Hearl, Derek. ( 1987), Ideology, Strategy and Party Change: Spatial Analyses of Post-War Election Programmes in 19 Democracies, Cambridge:: Cambridge University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Burnham, Walter D.. ( 1970), Critical Elections: And the Mainsprings of American Politics, New York:: W. W. Norton & Company;.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Cain, Herman. ( 2011), This Is Herman Cain! My Journey to the White House, New York:: Threshold Editions;.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Canovan, Margaret. ( 1999;), ‘ Trust the people! Populism and the two faces of democracy. ’, Political Studies, 47:1, pp. 216.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Carnes, Nicholaus, and Lupu, Noam. ( 2017;), ‘ It’s time to bust the myth: Most Trump voters were not working class. ’, The Washington Post, 5 June, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/06/05/its-time-to-bust-the-myth-most-trump-voters-were-not-working-class/?utm_term=.3938aaf9af8e. Accessed 18 June 2017.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Dalton, Russell J., and Wattenberg, Martin P.. ( [2000] 2002;), ‘ Unthinkable democracy: Political change in advanced industrial democracies. ’, in R. J. Dalton, and M. P. Wattenberg. (eds), Parties without Partisans: Political Change in Advanced Industrial Democracies, Oxford:: Oxford University Press;, pp. 116.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Downs, Anthony. ( 1957), An Economic Theory of Democracy, New York:: Harper & Row;.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Duverger, Maurice. ( [1954] 1959), Political Parties: Their Organization and Activity in the Modern State, London:: Methuen;.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Edwards, George C., and Wayne, Stephen J.. ( 2014), Presidential Leadership: Politics and Policy Making, Boston, MA:: Cengage Learning;.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Edwards, George C., and Wood, Dan B.. ( 1999;), ‘ Who influences whom? The president, Congress, and the media. ’, American Political Science Review, 93:2, pp. 32744.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Ehley, Brianna. ( 2016;), ‘ Sanders says he ran as a Democrat for “media coverage”. ’, Politico , 14 March, http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-dem-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/03/bernie-sanders-independent-media-coverage-220747. Accessed 18 June 2017.
  24. Enli, Gunn. ( 2017;), ‘ Twitter as arena for the authentic outsider: Exploring the social media campaigns of Trump and Clinton in the 2016 US presidential election. ’, European Journal of Communication, 32:1, pp. 5061.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Epstein, Leon D.. ( 1967), Political Parties in Western Democracies, New York:: Praeger;.
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Freeden, Michael. ( 1998;), ‘ Is nationalism a distinct ideology?. ’, Political Studies, 46:4, pp. 74865.
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Gallup ( 2017;), ‘ Party affiliation. ’, Gallup;, 18 June, http://www.gallup.com/poll/15370/party-affiliation.aspx. Accessed 18 June 2017.
  28. Grossback, Lawrence J.,, Peterson, David A. M., and Stimson, James A.. ( 2006), Mandate Politics, Cambridge:: Cambridge University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  29. Grossmann, Matt,, and Hopkins, David A.. ( 2014;), ‘ Ideological Republicans and group interest democrats: The asymmetry of American party politics. ’, Perspectives on Politics, 13:1, pp. 11939.
    [Google Scholar]
  30. Hunt, Kasey. ( 2014;), ‘ Jeb Bush on 2016: GOP needs to “lose the primary to win the general”. ’, MSNBC;, 1 December, http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/jeb-bush-gop-needs-lose-the-primary-win-the-general. Accessed 18 June 2017.
  31. Ivarsflaten, Elisabeth. ( 2016;), ‘ Siren songs: Reflections on contemporary populism in Europe’s old democracies. ’, Comparative Politics Newsletter, 26:2, pp. 501.
    [Google Scholar]
  32. Jacobson, Gary C.. ( 2014;), ‘ Partisan polarization in American politics: A background paper. ’, Presidential Studies Quarterly, 43:4, pp. 688708.
    [Google Scholar]
  33. Katz, Richard. S., and Mair, Peter. ( 1995;), ‘ Changing models of party organization and party democracy: The emergence of the cartel party. ’, Party Politics, 1:1, pp. 528.
    [Google Scholar]
  34. Kenney, Charles D.. ( 1998;), ‘ Anti-politicians, outsiders and party politics: New conceptual strategies and empirical evidence from Peru. ’, Party Politics, 4:1, pp. 5775.
    [Google Scholar]
  35. Key, V. O.. ( 1955;), ‘ A theory of critical elections. ’, The Journal of Politics, 17:1, pp. 318.
    [Google Scholar]
  36. Kircheimer, Otto. ( 1966;), ‘ The transformation of the Western European party systems. ’, in J. LaPalombara, and M. Weiner. (eds), Political Parties and Political Development, Princeton, NJ:: Princeton University Press;, pp. 177200.
    [Google Scholar]
  37. Lipset, Seymour M., and Rokkan, Stein. ( 1967), Party Systems and Voter Alignments: Cross-National Perspectives, New York:: Free Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  38. Mair, Peter. ( 2009;), ‘ Representative versus responsible government. ’, working paper , Köln:: MPIfG;.
    [Google Scholar]
  39. Mansbridge, Jane. ( 2003;), ‘ Rethinking representation. ’, American Political Science Review, 97:4, pp. 51528.
    [Google Scholar]
  40. Marsh, David,, ‘t Hart, Paul, and Tindall, Karen. ( 2010;), ‘ Celebrity politics: The politics of the late modernity?. ’, Political Studies Review, 8:3, pp. 32240.
    [Google Scholar]
  41. May, John D.. ( 1973;), ‘ Opinion structure of political parties: The special law of curvilinear disparity. ’, Political Studies, 21:2, pp. 13551.
    [Google Scholar]
  42. McDonnell, Duncan, and Newell, James L.. ( 2011;), ‘ Outsider parties in government in Western Europe. ’, Party Politics, 17:4, pp. 44352.
    [Google Scholar]
  43. Michels, Robert. ( 1962), Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracies, New York:: Collier;.
    [Google Scholar]
  44. Mjelde, Hilmar. ( 2017;), ‘ Conceptualizing outsider presidential candidates: A framework for analysis. ’, unpublished manuscript .
  45. Mudde, Cas. ( 2004;), ‘ The populist zeitgeist. ’, Government and Opposition, 39:4, pp. 54163.
    [Google Scholar]
  46. Mudde, Cas, and Kaltwasser, Cristobal R.. ( 2017), Populism: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford:: Oxford University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  47. New York Times ( 2016;), ‘ $2 billion worth of free media for Donald Trump. ’, New York Times, 15 March, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/16/upshot/measuring-donald-trumps-mammoth-advantage-in-free-media.html. Accessed 6 August 2018.
    [Google Scholar]
  48. Norris, Pippa. ( 1995;), ‘ May’s law of curvilinear disparity revisited: Leaders, officers, members and voters in British political parties. ’, Party Politics, 1:1, pp. 2947.
    [Google Scholar]
  49. O’Connor, Karen,, Sabato, Larry J., and Yanus, Alixandra B.. ( 2016), American Government: Roots and Reform, Boston, MA:: Longman;.
    [Google Scholar]
  50. Oliver, J. Eric, and Rahn, Wendy M.. ( 2016;), ‘ Rise of the Trumpenvolk: Populism in the 2016 election. ’, The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 667:1, pp. 189206.
    [Google Scholar]
  51. Panagopoulos, Costas. ( 2016;), ‘ All about that base: Changing campaign strategies in U.S. Presidential elections. ’, Party Politics, 22:2, pp. 17990.
    [Google Scholar]
  52. Panebianco, Angelo. ( 1988), Political Parties: Organization and Power, Cambridge:: Cambridge University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  53. Pellegrini, Frank. ( 2000;), ‘ “I am my own man”: Introducing the new Al Gore. ’, Time, 18 August, http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,52881,00.html. Accessed 18 June 2017.
    [Google Scholar]
  54. Pennock, J. Roland, and Chapman, John W.. (eds) ( 1968), Representation, New York:: Atherton Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  55. Perot, Ross. ( 1992;), ‘ Perot for president ad ‘92. ’, YouTube;, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=779Skyf-TY8. Accessed 18 June 2017.
  56. Petrocik, John R.. ( 1987;), ‘ Realignment: New party coalitions and the nationalization of the south. ’, The Journal of Politics, 49:2, pp. 34775.
    [Google Scholar]
  57. Pew Research Center ( 2014;), ‘ Section 5: Political engagement and activism. ’, Pew Research Center;, 12 June, http://www.people-press.org/2014/06/12/section-5-political-engagement-and-activism/. Accessed 18 June 2017.
  58. Pew Research Center ( 2015;), ‘ Trends in party identification, 1939-2014. ’, Pew Research Center;, 7 April, http://www.people-press.org/interactives/party-id-trend/. Accessed 18 June 2017.
  59. Pitkin, Hanna F.. ( 1967), The Concept of Representation, Berkeley, CA:: University of California;.
    [Google Scholar]
  60. Polsby, Nelson W.,, Wildavsky, Aaron,, Schier, Steven E., and Hopkins, David A.. ( 2012), Presidential Elections: Strategies and Structures of American Politics, Lanham, MD:: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers;.
    [Google Scholar]
  61. Rehfeld, Andrew. ( 2006;), ‘ Towards a general theory of political representation. ’, The Journal of Politics, 68:1, pp. 121.
    [Google Scholar]
  62. RNC ( 2013;), ‘ Growth & opportunity project. ’, The Republican National Committee;, 18 June, https://gop.com/growth-and-opportunity-project/. Accessed 18 June 2017. No longer available .
  63. Sartori, Giovanni. ( 1976), Parties and Party Systems: A Framework for Analysis, Cambridge:: Cambridge University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  64. Saward, Michael. ( 2006;), ‘ The representative claim. ’, Contemporary Political Theory, 5:3, pp. 297318.
    [Google Scholar]
  65. Saward, Michael. ( 2014;), ‘ Shape-shifting representation. ’, American Political Science Review, 108:4, pp. 72336.
    [Google Scholar]
  66. Schattschneider, Elmer E.. ( 1942), Party Government, New York:: Farrar and Rinehart;.
    [Google Scholar]
  67. Schedler, Andreas. ( 1996;), ‘ Anti-political-establishment parties. ’, Party Politics, 2:3, pp. 291312.
    [Google Scholar]
  68. Schwartz, Nancy. ( 1988), The Blue Guitar: Political Representation and Community, Chicago, IL:: University of Chicago Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  69. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy ( 2017;), ‘ Political representation. ’, Stanford University;, 2 January, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/political-representation/#DesRep.Accessed 18 June 2017.
  70. Taggart, Paul. ( 2000), Populism, Buckingham:: Open University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  71. Thompson, Dennis F.. ( 2002;), ‘ Political representation. ’, in N. J. Smelser, and P. B. Baltes. (eds), International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, Amsterdam:: Elsevier Science;, pp. 1169698.
    [Google Scholar]
  72. Time ( 2015;), ‘ Here’s Donald Trump’s presidential announcement speech. ’, transcript , Time, 16 June, http://time.com/3923128/donald-trump-announcement-speech/. Accessed 18 June 2017.
    [Google Scholar]
  73. von Beyme, Klaus. ( 1985), Political Parties in Western Democracies, Aldershot:: Gower;.
    [Google Scholar]
  74. Walshe, Shushannah. ( 2016;), ‘ Former CIA officer Evan McMullin launches independent presidential bid. ’, ABC News;, 8 August, http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/cia-officer-evan-mcmullin-launches-independent-presidential-bid/story?id=41201256. Accessed 18 June 2017.
  75. Mjelde, H.. ( 2019;), ‘ The political message of non-politician presidential candidates: A framework for analysis. ’, Interactions: Studies in Communication & Culture, 10:1&2, pp. 724, doi: 10.1386/iscc.10.1-2.7_1
    [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1386/iscc.10.1-2.7_1
Loading
/content/journals/10.1386/iscc.10.1-2.7_1
Loading

Data & Media loading...

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error