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Roy/Alcantara:Winning and Keeping Power in Canadian Politics
Do negative campaigns win elections? Do voters abandon candidates accused of scandalous behaviour? Do government apologies affect prospects for re-election? While many people assume the answer to each of these questions is yes, there is limited empirical evidence to support these assumptions. In this book, Jason Roy and Christopher Alcantara use a series of experiments to test these and other commonly held beliefs. Each chapter draws upon contemporary events and literature to frame the issues and strategies. The findings suggest that not all of the assumptions that people have about the best strategies for winning and keeping political power hold up to empirical scrutiny. In fact, some work in ways that many readers may find surprising. Original and innovative in its use of experimental methods, Winning and Keeping Power in Canadian Politics is a persuasive analysis of some of our most prominent and long-standing political myths. It will be a "go to" resource for journalists, strategists, scholars, and general readers alike.
264 pages, Paperback
Published August 7, 2020
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February 23, 2025
As Canada prepares for some turbulent times south of the border, it would be remiss not to talk about some of the political fallout within our own borders as well. An election is sure to occur by October 2025 and I wanted to do a little Election Prep for Canada, as I have done for US presidential elections in years past. We have a prime minister who has resigned due to some really poor polling numbers and a salivating Leader of the Opposition wanting to topple the tower right away for his own benefit. This entire experience could be extra fun, as there are whispers from high in Washington that the upcoming election could be the last for Canada as a sovereign country before we become the 51st state. Let’s see where this reading journey takes us!
While few will be shocked to know that I love election season in Canada (America's is too long and drawn-out!), there are specifics that add to the drama. Factors outside of which party has the best ideas or the glitziest campaigns play a role in choosing a local candidate and thereby a national party to lead the country for the next number of years. Jason Roy and Christopher Alcantara explore these elements in this book, making hypotheses and proving them with empirical research. While I was hoping for some analytical assessments, raw data and its presentation can be some of the best explanations for results. I defer to this method and the academic analyses that accompany it throughout this collection of nine chapters, with bookend personal sentiments by the authors as well. The book grabs the reader's attention as it seeks to find the key reasons people choose (or look away from) specific candidates or parties to gain or hold power, which is ideal in this pre-election season across Canada.
The authors have taken on a monumental task with this book, seeking the explore power amongst Canadian political parties and how it can be gained or retained during an election campaign. They provide key questions and seek to prove them with some extensive surveys and studies that were done over a period of time, all in an effort to better understand the psyche of voters and their needs. Of particular interest to me, since Canadians are inundated with American campaigns through social media and on television, was whether negative campaigns actually win voters over, or simply leave a sour taste in the mouth. Many will be shocked to know that the calm and peaceful Canadian public has been subjected to negative campaigning and, at times, cruel depiction of people for reasons they cannot control. The authors highlight this, as well as some of the answers received in the surveys, which led to eyebrow-raising results for all to see.
Another area of great interest to me would be how political scandals are handled by parties and what effect that has on the voter. While the authors provide some keen assessment of both literature and the results of the surveys, I could not help but reflect on how events south of the 45th parallel differ greatly when it comes to campaigning in this manner. How scandal appears to fuel the campaign and what effect it has on the voter who seeks to parse through it and get to the core of the issues at hand. The authors do not take this meandering walk, though it is intriguing to see the parallels in place.
Choosing election timings (a luke-warm application to something that has merit in its legislative foundation), endorsements by outsiders, and the use of apologetic sentiments also play a key role in currying favour with the electorate before and during a campaign. These are assessed and results presented for the reader to synthesise in this piece, as clearly as possible. The authors make some strong predictions and then are forced to walk some back at different times, all in an effort to keep the reader wondering what awaits them and how raw data tells a story of its own when it comes to personal sentiment. These are concrete concerns and clearly impactful, though the reader might be surprised at what they discover in the various chapters.
There is no doubt that elections can be a complete crapshoot when it comes to how people will think and what influences them. This is likely why elections involve a campaign period and parties/candidates do not simply run on their actions before the writ is dropped. Jason Roy and Christopher Alcantara do a masterful job of posing the key questions and then diving down the rabbit holes to assess them. Their use of academic research to support arguments and hypotheses is wonderful and provides the curious reader an understanding of what past assessments have uncovered, all before new surveys and analyses uncover truths that might not have been expected. There is no doubt that elections are complex and can never be taken for granted, but it is certainly how candidates and parties choose to use the tools put before them that will shape things in various ways. The authors use these nine case studies, which can be taken together or as individual assessments, and sought to present them to the readert for their own mental weighing in. I enjoyed this piece and will keep it handy when the writ is formally dropped and Canada shows the world how it holds its own elections in the coming months or year. Stay tuned and see how it's done, without the need for cheating or Russian involvement.
Kudos, Messrs. Roy and Alcantara, for this great collection of analytical documentation.
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
While few will be shocked to know that I love election season in Canada (America's is too long and drawn-out!), there are specifics that add to the drama. Factors outside of which party has the best ideas or the glitziest campaigns play a role in choosing a local candidate and thereby a national party to lead the country for the next number of years. Jason Roy and Christopher Alcantara explore these elements in this book, making hypotheses and proving them with empirical research. While I was hoping for some analytical assessments, raw data and its presentation can be some of the best explanations for results. I defer to this method and the academic analyses that accompany it throughout this collection of nine chapters, with bookend personal sentiments by the authors as well. The book grabs the reader's attention as it seeks to find the key reasons people choose (or look away from) specific candidates or parties to gain or hold power, which is ideal in this pre-election season across Canada.
The authors have taken on a monumental task with this book, seeking the explore power amongst Canadian political parties and how it can be gained or retained during an election campaign. They provide key questions and seek to prove them with some extensive surveys and studies that were done over a period of time, all in an effort to better understand the psyche of voters and their needs. Of particular interest to me, since Canadians are inundated with American campaigns through social media and on television, was whether negative campaigns actually win voters over, or simply leave a sour taste in the mouth. Many will be shocked to know that the calm and peaceful Canadian public has been subjected to negative campaigning and, at times, cruel depiction of people for reasons they cannot control. The authors highlight this, as well as some of the answers received in the surveys, which led to eyebrow-raising results for all to see.
Another area of great interest to me would be how political scandals are handled by parties and what effect that has on the voter. While the authors provide some keen assessment of both literature and the results of the surveys, I could not help but reflect on how events south of the 45th parallel differ greatly when it comes to campaigning in this manner. How scandal appears to fuel the campaign and what effect it has on the voter who seeks to parse through it and get to the core of the issues at hand. The authors do not take this meandering walk, though it is intriguing to see the parallels in place.
Choosing election timings (a luke-warm application to something that has merit in its legislative foundation), endorsements by outsiders, and the use of apologetic sentiments also play a key role in currying favour with the electorate before and during a campaign. These are assessed and results presented for the reader to synthesise in this piece, as clearly as possible. The authors make some strong predictions and then are forced to walk some back at different times, all in an effort to keep the reader wondering what awaits them and how raw data tells a story of its own when it comes to personal sentiment. These are concrete concerns and clearly impactful, though the reader might be surprised at what they discover in the various chapters.
There is no doubt that elections can be a complete crapshoot when it comes to how people will think and what influences them. This is likely why elections involve a campaign period and parties/candidates do not simply run on their actions before the writ is dropped. Jason Roy and Christopher Alcantara do a masterful job of posing the key questions and then diving down the rabbit holes to assess them. Their use of academic research to support arguments and hypotheses is wonderful and provides the curious reader an understanding of what past assessments have uncovered, all before new surveys and analyses uncover truths that might not have been expected. There is no doubt that elections are complex and can never be taken for granted, but it is certainly how candidates and parties choose to use the tools put before them that will shape things in various ways. The authors use these nine case studies, which can be taken together or as individual assessments, and sought to present them to the readert for their own mental weighing in. I enjoyed this piece and will keep it handy when the writ is formally dropped and Canada shows the world how it holds its own elections in the coming months or year. Stay tuned and see how it's done, without the need for cheating or Russian involvement.
Kudos, Messrs. Roy and Alcantara, for this great collection of analytical documentation.
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
Displaying 1 of 1 review