Modern campaign and electoral strategies: the role of internet in Brazil elections 2014

• Grant number: 14/10233-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: October 01, 2014
• End date: March 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Political Science
• Principal Investigator: Fernando Antônio Farias de Azevedo
• Grantee: Michele Goulart Massuchin
• Supervisor: Eva Campos Domínguez
• Host Institution: Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universidad de Valladolid (UVa), Spain
• Associated to the scholarship: 12/10982-2 - Political Communication on the Internet and Institutionalization of political parties: the campaign on the websites of the majority candidates in 2012 and 2014 in Brazil, BP.DR

Abstract

This project analyses the use of the internet as a space of campaign during the election period. The object is the website content of the three major candidates for the presidency of Brazil in 2014. With the modernization of campaigns (SWANSON and MANCINI, 1995; MAZOLENI, 2010) the Internet has become part of the dynamic electoral processes together with other medias, also used to obtain votes and disseminate political information. Each medium has its specificities and functions in the electoral dispute and the characteristics of postings - in the internet case- defines the type of political elite actions on the internet. The methodology used for the analysis is quantitative content analysis and the datas are collected during the election period (July, 6 to October, 4). The posts are analyzed using analytical reference as models in the literature, which focuses the features of the content (ALBUQUERQUE, 1999; Figueiredo et al , 1999). The main hypothesis is that this space has different functions during the election period and it is not only used for translating information from other campaign areas, but it also contains certain strategies that vary according to each candidate, the electoral context and political trajectory of each one. (AU)