Gendered backlash depends on the context. Reassessing negative campaigning sanctions Against female candidates via large-scale comparative data

Alessandro Nai*, Chiara Valli, Jurgen Maier, Loes Aaldering

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

On paper, women politicians should be punished more than men when they go negative during election campaigns. Yet, empirical evidence in this sense is surprisingly scarce, and findings offer a muddled picture. In this article, we argue that existing research has, so far, neglected to consider a fundamental intervening factor: the role of the context, and specifically the level of descriptive representation of women in politics. Using novel large-scale data for 700+ candidates having competed in 150+ elections in 94 countries worldwide, we test – and confirm – the expectation that women are especially punished for negative campaigning in countries with low descriptive representation of women in politics. This pattern does not hold in more gender-equal contexts. Additional observational evidence from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES) shows that this electoral punishment is likely due to voters expressing lower likability of women candidates (compared to men) when the former go negative in countries where women are less established in political leadership positions. We suggest that inconsistent results in previous studies are likely due to the lack of comparative focus.
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages22
JournalPolitical Communication
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - Dec 2024

Funding

We are very thankful to the journal editors and reviewers for their precious inputs and guidance during the publication process, and to Bernhard Clemm and Madison Schroder for a smooth and professional data review and replication process. Any remaining mistakes are our responsibility alone. A sincere thank you to all experts that have kindly donated their time to answer our expert survey. Previous versions of this manuscript have been presented at several conferences and workshops; thank you to all participants to these events for their inputs and genuine interest in our work. Alex Nai acknowledges the generous financial support by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF ref. P300P1_161163).

FundersFunder number
Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen ForschungP300P1_161163
Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Gendered backlash depends on the context. Reassessing negative campaigning sanctions Against female candidates via large-scale comparative data'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this