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Summary

In the introduction to this book we set ourselves the task of exploring critically the relationship dynamics that are at the heart of political communication. As we have seen, since the foundation of the state these dynamics have been in perpetual flux and have waxed and waned as political parties have come and gone and as new communication technologies have added to the multiplicity of means by which political communication, in its many different forms and with its many different agenda, can occur. Political communication can, in many ways, be described as an ever-ongoing contest for support that is played out in the media. While what we refer to as ‘the media’ has changed hugely over the past decade or so, it is clear that, whatever their effect in levelling the playing field, the new technologies have certainly added additional platforms to the age-old competition for support of a party, candidate or idea.

One theme that emerges clearly from the chapters is that whether one defines political communication as persuasion, public discourse, an effort to set the agenda or an attempt to frame an issue in a particular way, and whether one is considering print, broadcast or social media in terms of campaigning techniques, an integral part of the political communication process has always been, and remains, convincing the electorate to choose between aspirants to high office. During the early decades of independence the revolutionary generation of ‘politicians by accident’ monopolised electoral competition, producing – depending on one's vantage point – a remarkable stability or stagnation.

Negative campaigning has been part and parcel of Irish electoral history from the first days of the state established by the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921. The civil war produced a tradition of negative campaigning that endured for decades and was characterised by vitriolic and personalised attacks on political leaders. Fianna Fáil and its republican allies were the chief targets of ‘red scares’ during the 1920s and early 1930s, though as Fianna Fáil switched from opposition to government it launched its own witch-hunt against putative Bolsheviks in parties such as Labour and Clann na Poblachta. Election campaigns are now substantially less confrontational than during the early decades of the state, in spite of the natural preference of journalists and broadcasters for gladiatorial contests between aspiring politicians.

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Publisher: Liverpool University Press
Print publication year: 2014

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