Syllabus
1. Media influence What methods are abused to influence opinions of the individual and of the public and how to recognize them? How is agenda set, built, developed and abandoned through media values or economic, power or other motivations, what incentives can play a role? a. Propaganda, Advertisement, Manipulation & Censorship b. Agenda-building & Agenda-setting c. Media values d. Gatekeeping e. Priming
2. Manipulation What fallacies are used in argumentation and media production, what role does framing play in our identification and understanding of events and to what misunderstandings can it lead to? a. Manipulation tricks b. Logical fallacies c. Framing
3. PR and Spinning How do actors influence the receipt and interpretation of events and messages, what are the differences in various approaches to influencing the public? What are the commonalities between selling an idea, an individual a product? a. PR, Spin-doctoring & Political Marketing b. Public space, Public sphere, Public marketplace
4. Transparency & Legitimacy How does the introduction of non-state actors, NGOs and businesses into the legitimacy mix influence democratic processes? What role does lobbying play in policymaking and what legitimacy does it have? What means and methods does it utilize? a. Non-classical theories of democracy (Popper & Schumpeter) b. Lobbying c. Non-state actors
5. Types of electoral campaigns What are and aren’t electoral campaigns, what role do they play in different types of political regimes? What are negative campaigns, how to identify them, why are they predominant and what impact do they have on the political system? a. Electoral campaign strategies in democratic and non-democratic systems b. Negative campaigns
6. Content of electoral campaigns I. What are the key 9 parts of an electoral campaign and how are they addressed in a professionally lead campaign? a. Plan b. Research c. Message d. Communication Plan e. Strategy
7. Content of electoral campaigns II. What are the key 9 parts of an electoral campaign and how are they addressed in a professionally lead campaign – continued 2nd part? a. Candidate b. Team c. Time d. Resources
8. Presidential electoral campaigns What are the main aspects of presidential electoral campaigns and how do they relate to the 9 aspects of campaigns? What did the key moments of US presidential elections look like as well as the most recent campaigns? What were the key features and differentiating factors in CZ presidential campaigns? a. US presidential campaigns i. JFK vs Nixon television debates ii. TV ads iii. Bush, Obama, Trump & Biden victories b. CZ and three direct presidential elections
9. CZ electoral campaigns ‘90 a. HoR 1996 i. Personalization ii. "We showed we can do it" iii. Republicans of Miroslav Sládek iv. Bus Zemák b. HoR 1998 i. Anti-communist theme ii. Opposition treaty iii. "Burned country"
10. CZ electoral campaigns ‘00 a. HoR 2002 i. "Person first" ii. Vaclav Klaus phone calls iii. CSSD and "megaparties" iv. Stolen microphone b. HoR 2006 i. Professionalization ii. Public Opinion Polls iii. Negative campaign iv. ODS plus / ODS minus v. KSCSSD
11. CZ electoral campaigns ‘10 a. HoR 2010 i. Anti-Corruption ii. TOP09 & VV iii. Stopar game iv. Swimwear billboards b. HoR 2013 i. Necas case ii. ANO iii. Americanisation iv. Jagr and chicken v. Return of D2D campaign c. HoR 2017 i. Pirates and SPD ii. ANO – it will get better iii. STAN and role of regionalism d. HoR 2021 i. Spolu and PirSTAN pre-election coalitions ii. Unification iii. Babis’ high cost
12. Power of Language How can language influence reality, how does it shape it, define it? What are historical and contemporary manifestations of such trends and their implications for democratic deliberation? a. Totalitarian Language (Wittgenstein, Klemperer & Piper) b. Dystopias (Orwell, Huxley & Zamjatin) c. Political correctness
Annotation
Political communication intertwines political science, sociology, communication studies and anthropology and touches on a multitude of other social disciplines. Its object of study and terminology is enriched by this breadth and complements political science with a bridge to understanding the nature of human interaction with political institutions and mutual impacts these interactions inevitably bring.
The course will address the relationship between political systems, media systems and citizens. It will introduce basic concepts of the role of media within a society and in modern democracies. It will derive from communication flows between citizens as recipients of information, media institutions as their emitters and political institutions as dependents on these communication flows. Emphasis will be laid on ways how political institutions communicate with the electorate and what role mass media play in these interactions.
Distinctive emphasis will be laid on the normativity of these interactions. Given communication influences intrinsic aspects of political, social and individual life it cannot be assessed in an ethical vacuum. Therefore the role of the state, rule of law, policy making principles and the way how these aspects of political life can be approached will be intertwined in the lectures of this course so that the adherence or diversions to democratic norms are attended to.
Special attention will be given to electoral campaigns and political mobilization, including its negative aspects and influence on citizenship, trust towards a political system and the rule of law.
The course will furthermore look at the history of electoral campaigns in the Czech Republic, predominantly at those to the House of Representatives and presidential campaigns, and selected aspects of electoral campaigns to other elected bodies.