Alessandro Nai - Böcker

Sex is bad. Unprotected sex is a problem. Having a baby would be a disaster. Abortion is a sin. Teenagers in the United States hear conflicting messages about sex from everyone around them. How do teens understand these messages?In Mixed Messages, Stefanie Mollborn examines how social norms and social control work through in-depth interviews with college students and teen mothers and fathers, revealing the tough conversations teeangers just can't have with adults. Delving into teenagers' complicated social worlds Mollborn argues that by creating informal social sanctions like gossip and exclusion and formal communication such as sex education, families, peers, schools, and communities strategize to gain control over teens' behaviors. However, while teens strategize to keep control, they resist the constraints of the norms, revealing the variety of outcomes that occur beyond compliance or deviance. By proving that the norms existing today around teen sex are ineffective, failing to regulate sexual behavior, and instead punishing teens that violate them, Mollborn calls for a more thoughtful and consistent dialogue between teens and adults, emphasizing messages that will lead to more positive health outcomes.

Recent decades have seen growing concern regarding problems of electoral integrity. The most overt malpractices used by rulers include imprisoning dissidents, harassing adversaries, coercing voters, vote-rigging counts, and even blatant disregard for the popular vote. Elsewhere minor irregularities are common, exemplified by inaccurate voter registers, maladministration of polling facilities, lack of security in absentee ballots, pro-government media bias, ballot miscounts, and gerrymandering. Serious violations of human rights that undermine electoral credibility are widely condemned by domestic observers and the international community. Recent protests about integrity have mobilized in countries as diverse as Russia, Mexico, and Egypt. However, long-standing democracies are far from immune to these ills; past problems include the notorious hanging chads in Florida in 2000 and more recent accusations of voter fraud and voter suppression during the Obama-Romney contest. When problems come to light, however, is anyone held to account and are effective remedies implemented?In response to these developments, there have been growing attempts to analyze flaws in electoral integrity and transparency using systematic data from cross-national time-series, forensic analysis, field experiments, case studies, and new instruments monitoring mass and elite perceptions of malpractices. This volume collects essays from international experts who evaluate the robustness, conceptual validity, and reliability of the growing body of evidence. The essays compare alternative approaches and apply these methods to evaluate the quality of elections in several areas, including the United States, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America. Election Watchdogs:Transparency, Accountability and Integrity presents new insights into the importance of diverse actors who promote electoral transparency, accountability, and ultimately the integrity of electoral governance.

Recent decades have seen growing concern regarding problems of electoral integrity. The most overt malpractices used by rulers include imprisoning dissidents, harassing adversaries, coercing voters, vote-rigging counts, and even blatant disregard for the popular vote. Elsewhere minor irregularities are common, exemplified by inaccurate voter registers, maladministration of polling facilities, lack of security in absentee ballots, pro-government media bias, ballot miscounts, and gerrymandering. Serious violations of human rights that undermine electoral credibility are widely condemned by domestic observers and the international community. Recent protests about integrity have mobilized in countries as diverse as Russia, Mexico, and Egypt. However, long-standing democracies are far from immune to these ills; past problems include the notorious hanging chads in Florida in 2000 and more recent accusations of voter fraud and voter suppression during the Obama-Romney contest. When problems come to light, however, is anyone held to account and are effective remedies implemented?In response to these developments, there have been growing attempts to analyze flaws in electoral integrity and transparency using systematic data from cross-national time-series, forensic analysis, field experiments, case studies, and new instruments monitoring mass and elite perceptions of malpractices. This volume collects essays from international experts who evaluate the robustness, conceptual validity, and reliability of the growing body of evidence. The essays compare alternative approaches and apply these methods to evaluate the quality of elections in several areas, including the United States, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America. Election Watchdogs:Transparency, Accountability and Integrity presents new insights into the importance of diverse actors who promote electoral transparency, accountability, and ultimately the integrity of electoral governance.

Recent years have seen the rise of political figures with particularly abrasive, controversial, and aggressive personalities, who seem to take pleasure in introducing an uncivil tone into the political debate. From Trump in the USA to Bolsonaro in Brazil, the media increasingly spotlights political figures who adopt a transgressive political style that incorporates spectacular acts, exaggeration, calculated provocations, and political and socio-cultural taboos. Who are these aggressive political figures? Why are they successful? And what does it mean for democracy?Dark Politics is a novel exploration of the rise of aversive and antagonistic political figures worldwide. Drawing on new data from 100 recent elections, post-election surveys, and original experimental evidence, Alessandro Nai and Jürgen Maier provide the first large-scale comparative investigation into the "darker" sides of human personality in politicians--the "Dark Triad" of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism. Nai and Maier show that dark traits are acutely present in populists, go hand in hand with more aggressive forms of campaign rhetoric, such as incivility and negativity, and are particularly appreciated by voters who themselves score high on such dark personality traits. Their analyses reveal that dark candidates are more likely to be electorally successful when running as an incumbent and tend to be associated with a better economic performance if elected. However, dark leaders can lead to increased cynicism in the public, democratic deconsolidation, and even a poorer response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dark Politics provides a new way to understand contemporary politics by looking at the crucial role of dark personality traits in leaders and voters.

Recent years have seen the rise of political figures with particularly abrasive, controversial, and aggressive personalities, who seem to take pleasure in introducing an uncivil tone into the political debate. From Trump in the USA to Bolsonaro in Brazil, the media increasingly spotlights political figures who adopt a transgressive political style that incorporates spectacular acts, exaggeration, calculated provocations, and political and socio-cultural taboos. Who are these aggressive political figures? Why are they successful? And what does it mean for democracy?Dark Politics is a novel exploration of the rise of aversive and antagonistic political figures worldwide. Drawing on new data from 100 recent elections, post-election surveys, and original experimental evidence, Alessandro Nai and Jürgen Maier provide the first large-scale comparative investigation into the "darker" sides of human personality in politicians--the "Dark Triad" of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism. Nai and Maier show that dark traits are acutely present in populists, go hand in hand with more aggressive forms of campaign rhetoric, such as incivility and negativity, and are particularly appreciated by voters who themselves score high on such dark personality traits. Their analyses reveal that dark candidates are more likely to be electorally successful when running as an incumbent and tend to be associated with a better economic performance if elected. However, dark leaders can lead to increased cynicism in the public, democratic deconsolidation, and even a poorer response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dark Politics provides a new way to understand contemporary politics by looking at the crucial role of dark personality traits in leaders and voters.

The Psychology of Attack Politics explores the use of political attacks in election campaigns, and the way in which their, often deliberate, use impacts voters and has wide reaching societal consequences.With most elections being fraught with tension, disrespectful treatment of political opponents, and political incivility, this timely book aims to disentangle the dynamics of how attack politics is perceived (e.g., whether citizens perceive a negative message to be, indeed, negative) and evaluated (i.e., whether citizens like or dislike attack politics). The book also looks at the effects of attack politics, for instance, whether exposure to negative or uncivil messages alters attitudes and behaviors, such as turnout, affective polarization, and support for political violence. The authors provide a systematic conceptualization of attack politics, made up of negativity, incivility, and intolerance. Focusing on cutting- edge research in political psychology, political communication, and electoral behavior, the authors make the central argument that to understand the effects of different forms of attack politics, there should be a strong focus on individual differences in message perception and evaluation.Exploring what ultimately drives the effects of negative, uncivil, and intolerant rhetoric, and analyzing the phenomena at the center of current scientific and public discourse, this is a fascinating reading for academics and students in psychology, political science, sociology, and communication, as well as anyone interested in political campaigning and elections.

The Psychology of Attack Politics explores the use of political attacks in election campaigns, and the way in which their, often deliberate, use impacts voters and has wide reaching societal consequences.With most elections being fraught with tension, disrespectful treatment of political opponents, and political incivility, this timely book aims to disentangle the dynamics of how attack politics is perceived (e.g., whether citizens perceive a negative message to be, indeed, negative) and evaluated (i.e., whether citizens like or dislike attack politics). The book also looks at the effects of attack politics, for instance, whether exposure to negative or uncivil messages alters attitudes and behaviors, such as turnout, affective polarization, and support for political violence. The authors provide a systematic conceptualization of attack politics, made up of negativity, incivility, and intolerance. Focusing on cutting- edge research in political psychology, political communication, and electoral behavior, the authors make the central argument that to understand the effects of different forms of attack politics, there should be a strong focus on individual differences in message perception and evaluation.Exploring what ultimately drives the effects of negative, uncivil, and intolerant rhetoric, and analyzing the phenomena at the center of current scientific and public discourse, this is a fascinating reading for academics and students in psychology, political science, sociology, and communication, as well as anyone interested in political campaigning and elections.

This Encyclopedia covers the vast field of political communication, presenting an authoritative overview of its key foundational theories and empirical methodologies. Authored by nearly 600 experts from across the globe, it explores diverse areas of inquiry, foreshadowing future trends and avenues for research.Highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of political communication, the Encyclopedia engages with a range of topics from election campaigns, news and journalism, to interpersonal communication, social media, and psychological mechanisms of information processing. Entries are concise and accessible, critically examining the role of the communicator, the message, the medium, and the receiver, as well as applications to broader societal issues.Key Features:Thoroughly comprehensive with over 400 entries written by leading scholars and researchersExpands the boundaries of political communication beyond usual Western-centric conceptionsProvides insights into a wide variety of topics, approaches, paradigms, methodologies, and perspectivesStudents and scholars of media and communication, political science, sociology, international relations, public administration and management, and social sciences in general will greatly benefit from this essential Encyclopedia. It is also a vital resource for researchers and international policy professionals seeking to understand cutting-edge developments in the field.