„Zum Regieren brauche ich nur Bild, Bams und Glotze“ Bundeskanzler a.D. Gerhard Schröder
The elections to the German Bundestag in the last years seemed to have shown one thing clearly: the election campaigns are increasingly changing. Personalization and professionalization are just two of the keywords who dominate the campaigns not at least since the “Media Chancellor” Gerhard Schröder won the election in 1998. Like no chancellor before him, he relied on his impact of the media and his own popularity, which was always well ahead compared to his party. With the introduction of the first TV duels between the two top-candidates in German history of television in 2002, many observers came to the conclusion that there is a transformation of “national elections” to “chancellor elections”. The reasons for many analysts seem to be obvious. One of the much-discussed is the spill-over of Americanization from German society to the politics. But what means the Americanization of German election campaigns and which characteristics can be found? Or have these developments rather to be seen as a modernization-process that has occurred at first in the United States?
The goal of the following work is to discuss and debate these questions, and subsequently to analyze the level of Americanization on the basis of the developments in television-debates ahead the German Bundestag elections.
To reach this, the paper starts with an overview of Americanization as a cultural transfer process followed by a discussion of the characteristics of Americanization in the political communication. Thereafter the question of modernization or Americanization is reviewed. The second chapter examines the history of television debates in the USA and Germany followed by an analysis. Finally, the concluding remarks will complete the work.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Americanization as a cultural transfer process
3. Characteristics of Americanization in the political communication
3.1 The Americanization thesis
3.2 Personalization
3.3 Professionalization of the campaign organization
3.4 Election campaign strategies - negative campaigning
3.3 Americanization or modernization?
3.4 Interim conclusion
4. The history of television debates
4.1 Television debates in the USA
4.2 Television debates in Germany
4.3 Americanization of television debates in Germany
5. Concluding remarks
Objectives and Core Topics
This work examines the phenomenon of the "Americanization" of German election campaigns, specifically focusing on how professionalization, personalization, and modern campaign strategies have influenced the German political landscape and the introduction of television debates.
- The theoretical conceptualization of Americanization as a cultural transfer process.
- Key characteristics of political communication: personalization, professionalization, and negative campaigning.
- The debate surrounding "Americanization vs. Modernization" in democratic systems.
- A comparative historical analysis of televised election debates in the USA and Germany.
Excerpt from the Book
4.1 Television debates in the USA
The format of the political debate is anything but new, already in ancient Rome there were discussion about politics at the famous forum. Speeches were delivered and political opponents challenged each other to a dispute in front of a crowd of people. In modern times, however, the trend is that the candidates and parties work with great effort, care and with the help of their advisors and advertising agencies on the marketing of their policies and also of their own images what is called professionalizing and personalizing. Many of these new marketing strategies were originally developed in the USA (Maurer/Reinemann (2003), p.10).
Already in 1858 met Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, no less than seven times to discuss the slavery. According to the pre-television age the format of a debate was different to today and very lengthy with an hour of talk time, one and a half hours answering and again half an hour for the summary. On the radio the first presidential debate was broadcasted in 1948 and the television audience could follow the debates of the primaries for the first time in 1956. A major significance in the election campaign got the format of presidential debates, however, not until 1960, when Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy were eyeball to eyeball. This first of four duels became a legend like no other television debate later.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Outlines the shift in German elections toward personalized, professionalized campaigns and introduces the central research question regarding the influence of Americanization vs. modernization.
2. Americanization as a cultural transfer process: Defines Americanization as a historical and ongoing process of cultural, economic, and technological transfer of values and norms from the U.S. to the global community.
3. Characteristics of Americanization in the political communication: Analyzes specific tactical shifts in political campaigning, including increased candidate focus and the adoption of modern media-driven strategies.
4. The history of television debates: Provides a historical overview of televised political discourse, contrasting the origins and institutionalization of debates in the U.S. with their subsequent implementation in Germany.
5. Concluding remarks: Synthesizes the findings, suggesting that while American influence is visible, the changes are part of a broader, inevitable modernization process of democratic political communication.
Keywords
Americanization, political communication, German Bundestag, personalization, professionalization, modernization, television debates, TV-duels, campaign strategy, negative campaigning, cultural transfer, media democracy, electoral politics, political marketing, campaign management.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this publication?
The work investigates the extent to which German election campaigns have been influenced by American campaign styles, often referred to as the "Americanization" of political communication.
Which central themes are analyzed in the text?
Key themes include the personalization of candidates, the professionalization of campaign organizations, the use of negative campaigning, and the history of televised debates in Germany.
What is the core research question addressed by the author?
The author questions whether the observed changes in German elections are truly an "Americanization" of political culture or merely a global trend of modernization within the media system.
Which scientific methodology does the work employ?
The study utilizes a descriptive and analytical approach, combining literature-based political science theories with a comparative historical analysis of media events like television debates.
What topics are covered in the main body of the work?
The main body examines the theoretical concept of cultural transfer, details specific characteristics of modern campaigns, and performs a case study of how TV debates moved from the U.S. model to the German context.
Which keywords best characterize this research?
The most relevant keywords include Americanization, political communication, personalization, professionalization, and TV-debates.
How did the 1960 U.S. presidential debate influence the perception of political debates?
The Kennedy-Nixon debate is cited as a turning point where the candidates' visual appearance and performance became as important as—or even more important than—their actual political arguments.
What role does the "Media Chancellor" play in the author's argument?
Gerhard Schröder is highlighted as a prime example of the shift in Germany, illustrating how a candidate's media presence and personal popularity can supersede traditional party-centric campaigning.
What concerns does the author raise regarding smaller political parties?
The author argues that the focus on "presidential" style duels and the "horse race" of top candidates disproportionately disadvantages smaller parties that lack the resources to compete in this high-intensity, media-driven environment.
- Quote paper
- Bastian Franke (Author), 2010, Americanization of the German election process, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/168635
