Local Campaign Behaviour in Canadian Elections
The Contours of Centralization
Format:Hardback
Publisher:University of Toronto Press
Published:1st Aug '25
£53.00
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- Paperback£19.99(9781487564773)
Local Campaign Behaviour in Canadian Elections investigates the relationship between the local and national components of Canadian political parties. Jacob Robbins-Kanter emphasizes the significance of local campaigns – often overlooked by scholars, voters, and the media – and examines when and why these campaigns deviate from national directives during federal elections.
Grounded in original data, the book explores the intricate dynamics between local campaigns and central party headquarters during Canadian elections, highlighting their cooperation, clashes, and divergences. It reveals the prevalence of undisciplined local campaign behaviour and the underestimated agency of local actors. The book argues that local campaigns retain meaningful agency to make critical decisions, influence election outcomes, and articulate local interests.
Drawing on nearly 100 interviews, primary source documents, and data collected as an embedded researcher during the 2019 federal election, Robbins-Kanter delves into the practice of undisciplined local campaign behaviour, which often challenges or diverges from central party directives. Local Campaign Behaviour in Canadian Elections presents a nuanced portrayal of local actors, positioning them as neither entirely autonomous nor merely instruments of a central party apparatus.
"A theoretically sophisticated, empirically rich, and engagingly written reinterpretation of local election campaigns and party organization in Canada, this book reignites debates and lays the groundwork for future research." -- Anthony M. Sayers, Professor of Political Science, University of Calgary
"In this well-researched, comprehensive, and highly readable book, Robbins-Kanter tackles several aspects of how Canadian parties organize themselves. The book will be of great value to students and professors of Canadian politics, and to anyone interested in how parties on the ground really function during Canadian elections." -- Royce Koop, Professor of Political Science, University of Manitoba
"Robbins-Kanter provides a refreshing examination of candidate behaviour in Canadian elections. The breadth and depth of research is impressive, and the analysis offered will make political scientists think twice about conventional wisdom regarding party discipline during a campaign." -- Anna Esselment, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waterloo
"Local Campaign Behaviour in Canadian Elections offers a nuanced look at the reality of Canadian elections on the ground, challenging the impression of political parties as centralized monoliths. Jacob Robbins-Kanter has produced a valuable new understanding of how power works in Canadian politics." -- Jonathan Malloy, Professor of Political Science, Carleton University
"This book is a major contribution to the literature on Canadian parties, campaign behaviour, and intra-party dynamics. The author provides fresh insights into the complex push-and-pull between local autonomy and national discipline in Canadian federal campaigns, with important implications for democratic representation." -- Jean-François Daoust, Associate Professor of Applied Politics, Université de Sherbrooke
ISBN: 9781487564766
Dimensions: 235mm x 159mm x 19mm
Weight: 480g
212 pages