According to a conventional wisdom, politics is nowadays more personalized than before. The proposition of the personalization of politics is relevant for three specific areas: institutions, media and voting behavior. This dissertation deals with the latter, since it focuses on the influence of party leaders on vote choice. So far the empirical scholarship tested whether “leader effects” have increased overtime (longitudinal studies) or investigated which conditions can enhance or discourage the electoral influence of party leaders (conditionality literature). We argue that both approaches have their limits, the former being based on the customary assumption of linearity, the latter investigating the role of (micro, meso and macro) “characteristics” rather than overarching and dynamic condition(s). This dissertation puts the cursor on a specific overarching condition: the (in)stability of parties and party systems (supply-side complexity). Actually, we argue that the magnitude of leader effects on the vote is conditional to the quality of the electoral environment. We therefore attribute to the “leader variable” a heuristic value: the leader appeal is conceived as an electoral shortcut more likely to be activated in complex electoral environment than in clear and stable contexts. There are two ways of testing the link between (variations in) and supply-side complexity and (variations in) leader effect on the vote. The first requires the adoption of a synchronic perspective, which implies a cross-national and cross-partisan empirical posture. This perspective considers space (i.e. “horizontal”) variations of stability, by assuming that certain parties and party systems are stable, while others are less or not stable. Are leader effects on the vote greater in the latter than in the former? The second one focuses on time (i.e. “longitudinal”) variations of stability. Indeed, electoral contexts vary across time – and not only across spaces - thus modifying the perceptions that voters may have of their electoral environment. When parties and party systems get convulsed, voters lose their frame of references. As such, they become cue-takers and rely more easily on leader appeals. On the contrary, when the political environment becomes clarified, voters will be less encouraged to rely on leader heuristic.This dissertation gives voice to both dimensions (space variation vs time variation). In a first place, we dig into the synchronic perspective. The relationship between supply-side complexity and leader effect on the vote is tested on a sample composed by 20 countries and 125 parties, included within the Comparative Studies of Electoral Systems. In a second place, we chart the magnitude of the leader variable according to longitudinal variations of supply-side complexity. Actually, our analytical effort will henceforth be centered on two distinguished case studies: Poland (1997-2011) and Italy (1996-2013), which have both experienced important variations in the stability of their electoral environment.We demonstrated that de facto differences (i.e. cross national and cross-partisan variations) in terms of stability do not automatically determine the magnitude of leader effects. On the contrary, we detect a link between the leader variable and longitudinal variations of the electoral environment. However, the quality of this link proves to be different in Poland and Italy. In the young democracy of Poland, leader effects and stability seem to be convergent rather than antagonist forces, while the Italian case properly fits our expectations: the convolution of the electoral environment makes voters more sensitive to the leader heuristic. / Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

This study explores the phenomenon of personalization within the political sphere. More specifically, it aims at exploring the strategical personalization of Swedish party leaders during the national election campaign of 2018. A further aim is to generate theoretical contributions to the area of personalization. As empirical material, the social media updates of three party leaders are analyzed under the period of 13 weeks before the election day, using a mixed methodological approach for an in-depth qualitative study. Regarding methodologies, grounded theory and coding is employed along with a rhetorical analysis that enable a systematic analysis of visual messages. The result indicates that the studied party leaders portrayed themselves as an integrated part of society, mediating a sense of presence and acknowledgement of the voters. In addition to this, the party leaders presented themselves as ordinary people and unified with the voters. The result also points to the practice of mediating a sense of social and cultural status, involving influencers in the communication and stepping into roles outside of the explicitly political arena. In terms of theoretical contributions, the generated theory contributes in the sense that it offers additional dimensions to the notion of "self-presentation", which is recognized as a common theme among prior theories. According to prior theories, individual politicians presents themselves as professional politicians and ordinary human beings. While the generated theory supports this perspective, it also highlights the aspect of intentionally integrating the voters into the self-presentations of individual politicians. Moreover, the generated theory emphasizes the perspective of social and cultural significance when regarding self-presentations of representatives.

På Instagram postar idag svenska partiledare bilder som är av vardaglig karaktär och föreställer situationer och miljöer man vanligtvis inte brukar se en partiledare i. Vi ser dem spela pingis inför publik, vi ser dem ta promenader i skogen med familjen och vi ser dem iklädda supporterkläder på en landskamp. Den här studien undersöker hur svenska gymnasieungdomar tolkar svenska partiledares visuella självpresentation på den sociala plattformen Instagram. För att undersöka detta har bilder valts ut från tre partiledares Instagramflöden: Stefan Löfven, Ulf Kristersson och Annie Lööf. Bilderna är representativa för hur partiledarna framställer sig själva på den sociala plattformen. Utifrån teori om semiotik, relationsbyggande arbete, självpresentation, personligt varumärkesbyggande och autenticitet, undersöker studien hur gymnasieungdomar tolkar och upplever bilderna. Detta genomförs genom kvalitativa intervjuer och receptionsanalys som metod. Genom semistrukturerade samtalsintervjuer har vi talat med tio olika ungdomar i Söderköping, Karlstad och Uppsala om hur de uppfattar partiledarnas självpresentation. Oavsett ungdomarnas politiska ståndpunkt går det att urskilja gemensamma kulturella associationer hos dem. Genom meningsbärande tecken, tillsammans med partiledaren som symbol för partiet, uppfattar ungdomarna olika politiska budskap i bilderna. Partiledaren fungerar som ett centralt tecken för att denna tolkning ska kunna göras. Respondenterna är av åsikten att bilder av vardaglig karaktär kan vara viktiga för väljare för att kunna relatera till, och känna igen sig i partiledarna. Genom en vardaglig självpresentation tror respondenterna att motivet till publiceringen av bilderna är att stärka relationen till en redan befintlig väljarkår, eller möjligen vinna över väljare utan stark politisk ståndpunkt. Respondenterna kan också urskilja en dramaturgisk uttänkt roll när partiledarna presenterar sig själva på ett vardagligt vis. Detta kan ge en skymt av vem partiledaren egentligen är, vilket skapar en sammansmältning av Goffmans två regioner och skapar en mellanregion på Instagram. I denna mellanregion påpekar respondenterna vikten av att partiledarna måste uppfattas som äkta. Vad respondenterna anser kännetecknar autenticitet går att särskilja till fyra faktorer: bilden ska inte uppvisa ett för tydligt politiskt motiv, bilden ska ge sken av ett spontant ögonblick, bildens kvalitet får inte vara för god, samt att bilden ska vara förenlig med respondentens egen uppfattning av partiets profil. Överlag spelar dessa fyra faktorer som skapar äkthet stor roll för hur gymnasieungdomarna tolkar bildernas autenticitet, vilket verkar avgörande för hur de tolkar bilderna på ett mer allmänt plan. Den här studiens resultat kan ge implikationer för hur olika samhällsinstanser, yrkesliv, liksom privatpersoner kan arbeta för att skapa förtroende på sociala medier genom att framstå som äkta. / Today, Swedish leaders of political parties post everyday life photos on Instagram, just like the rest of us. The posts show the politicians in situations and environments that you wouldn’t normally imagine a politician in. On Instagram, they post photos of themselves playing ping-pong, strolling in the forest with their family, cheering for their nation at a soccer game wearing supporter merchandise; photos that illustrate everyday life of an ordinary citizen. This study aims to look into how Swedish adolescents interpret the party leaders’ visual self-presentation on the social media platform Instagram. To do this, we have selected photos that represents the general self- presentation of three swedish party leaders: Stefan Löfven, Ulf Kristersson and Annie Lööf. Drawing on research and theory concerning semiotics, relationship theory, self-presentation, personal branding and authenticity, this study analyzes how adolescents read and interpret the photos. Using semi-structured qualitative interviews and reception theory, we have talked to ten adolescents from three different cities of varied population: Söderköping, Karlstad and Uppsala. The result of this study was that we found common cultural associations among the adolescents, regardless of their political preferences. Through meaningful signs, the adolescents found political messages in the photos. An important sign for this reading is the belief that the party leader is a symbol of their political party. According to the respondents, a strategic everyday life self- presentation can be an important tool to create a feeling of identification between the party leaders and the voters. Furthermore, the respondents think that these kind of photos can strengthen the relationship between a party leader and their existent voters, or attract voters that are indecisive. The adolescents do see the party leaders as actors in a dramaturgical performance, who want their audience to perceive them as one of the people. However, the respondents think this kind of self- presentation can be important, because it can still give a glimpse of the true self of the party leader. This coalition of the public and the private creates a kind of middle region, which takes place on Instagram. In the middle region, authenticity is key, according to the respondents. In the way the respondents talk about what is authentic and what is not, we identify a pattern. This pattern consists of four factors that creates authenticity: the photo cannot be too political, the photo must look spontaneous, the photo quality must not be too perfect, and the photo must coincide with the respondents view of the political party’s image. These factors are critical for how the adolescents perceive the photos and the party leaders portrayed in them overall. This study’s result could implicate how social facilities, organizations and citizens can use social media to create trust and authenticity concerning their personal brand.

The four largest newspapers in Sweden, Aftonbladet, Expressen, Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet, all have different political stands, but does it affect their reporting on different parties and their leaders? In 2013 and 2014 two of the nine party leaders in the Swedish parliament, Riksdag, were female, Annie Lööf (Centre Party) and Åsa Romson (the Green Party). This study examines the differences between the reporting on these two politicians in four newspapers and how they are portrayed using quantitative content analysis and framing analysis. Earlier studies by Kent Asp have shown that the Green Party (Miljöpartiet) is the most popular party among Swedish journalists, which could mean that the party is overrepresented and gets a special treatment in the media. In contrast, the Centre Party (Centerpartiet) is among the least popular among Swedish journalists and could therefore risk to be underrepresented. This study also researches if the portrayal of these two party leaders is in any way connected to their gender, as previous research shows that women politicians are treated differently to their male colleagues. Topics like family, private life and their appearance are often discussed instead of their work. Lastly this study investigates if there are differences in reporting between an election year, 2014, and a regular year, 2013. Our study shows that the political stands of the newspapers have an effect, even if only slight, on the reporting. Furthermore, Miljöpartiet does not get a special treatment as one might think, it’s rather the other way round. We found that the reporting on Annie Lööf and Centerpartiet was far more positive than the reporting on Åsa Romson and Miljöpartiet. We could not see that the reporters treated these politicians specially based on their gender, contrary to earlier studies. Finally, we found out that the newspapers focus on the party leaders rather than the parties themselves, which corresponds to the tendency of personification discussed in previous research. / De fyra största nyhetstidningarna i Sverige, Aftonbladet, Expressen, Dagens Nyheter och Svenska Dagbladet, har olika politiska ståndpunkter, men påverkar det deras rapportering av olika partier och deras partiledare? 2013 och 2014 var två av de nio partiledarna i Sveriges riksdag kvinnor, Annie Lööf (Centerpartiet) och Åsa Romson (Miljöpartiet). Den här uppsatsen undersöker skillnaderna mellan rapporteringen av dessa två politiker i fyra nyhetstidningar och hur de porträtteras, genom kvantitativ innehållsanalys och framing analysis. Tidigare studier av Kent Asp har visat att Miljöpartiet är det mest populära partiet bland svenska journalister, vilket kan betyda att partiet är överrepresenterat och får specialbehandling av medier. Tvärtemot är Centerpartiet bland de minst populära partierna bland svenska journalister och har därför en risk att bli underrepresenterade. Den här studien undersöker också om porträtteringen av dessa två partiledare på något sätt är kopplad till deras kön, då tidigare forskning visat att kvinnliga politiker behandlas annorlunda än deras manliga kollegor. Ämnen som familj, privatliv och deras utseende diskuteras ofta istället för deras jobb. Slutligen så undersöker denna studie om det finns några skillnader i rapporteringen mellan ett valår, 2014, och ett vanligt år, 2013. Vår studie visar att den politiska ståndpunkten hos tidningarna har en effekt, om än bara liten, på rapporteringen. Dessutom får Miljöpartiet ingen specialbehandling som man kunnat förvänta sig, utan det är snarare tvärt om. Vi såg att rapporteringen om Annie Lööf och Centerpartiet var långt mer positiv än rapporteringen om Åsa Romson och Miljöpartiet. Vi kunde inte se att reportrarna behandlade dessa politiker annorlunda baserat på deras kön, till skillnad mot tidigare studier. Slutligen såg vi att nyhetstidningarna fokuserar på partiledarna istället för själva partierna, vilken stämmer överens med tendenserna för personifiering som diskuterats i tidigare forskning.

This study focuses on the gender representation on Instagram of the two party leaders Annie Lööf and Ulf Kristersson. We will compare how they communicate through images on their private Instagram accounts. The purpose of this study is to see how they represent themselves on their private Instagram account, and make comparisons to see if there is any similarities or differences from a gender perspective that can be found in the society. The theoretical framework is based on Hirdman's Gender System, Connell's Masculinity Theory and Semiotic Theory. To accomplish this study, a semiotic method was used with denotations and connotations. To understand the underlying meaning in the images, an analysis tool that includes Goffman’s and Barthes different dimensions and Hansen and Machin’s analysis units has been designed. The result of the analysis shows that there is a difference in how the two party leaders choose to present themselves on Instagram. Lööf appears to be the stereotypical woman, she is responsive, empathetic and caring. Kristersson is portrayed like the stereotypical man, he takes place, is active and competitive. The image of the party leaders is similar to previous research and theories on gender and authority. Both Lööf and Kristersson reproduce the media's stereotypical representation of women and men. / Denna studie fokuserar på hur partiledarna Annie Lööf och Ulf Kristersson framställs, utifrån ett genusperspektiv, på Instagram. Deras bildkommunikation på Instagram studeras och jämförs. Syftet med studien är därför att jämföra hur en kvinnlig respektive manlig partiledare använder sitt privata Instagram-konto för att framställa sig själv, för att se om det finns några likheter eller skillnader utifrån ett genusperspektiv och för att se om de reproducerar den stereotypa framställningen av politiker i media. Studiens teoretiska ramverk utgår från Hirdmans Genussystem, Connells Maskulinitetsteori och semiotisk teori. För att genomföra studien användes en semiotisk metod med denotation och konnotation. För att förstå de underliggande meningarna i bilderna har ett analysverktyg konstruerats som innefattar Goffmans och Barthes olika dimensioner och Hansens och Machins ytterligare analysenheter. Resultatet av analysen visar att det finns en tydlig skillnad i hur de båda partiledarna väljer att framställa sig själva på Instagram. Lööf framstår som den typiska kvinnan, lyhörd, empatisk och omhändertagande. Kristersson framställs likt den stereotypa mannen som tar plats, är aktiv och tävlingsinriktad. Den bild som partiledarna visar upp kan kopplas ihop med tidigare forskning och teorier kring genus och makt. Både Lööf och Kristersson reproducerar medias stereotypa framställning av kvinnor och män.

This essay aims to investigate how the leaders for the Swedish parliamentary parties appear on their official Instagram accounts. By conducting a discourse analysis, looking at both text, visual images, and the combination of the two in the Instagram posts, the intention is to analyse how gender is being performed through the rhetorical concept of persona.  The analysis show that all eight party leaders mainly enact political/professional personas. Sub-personas derived to this category are individual vs group member, active vs passive, and critic. The male party leaders exhibit the individual, active and critical personas to a greater extent than their female counterparts, and thereby performing gender in a stereotypically masculine way – reproducing the image of the stereotypical male politician. The analysis also finds that some party leaders, mainly female ones, use personal personas to a greater extent.  The conclusion is that all party leaders mainly use professional personas, profiling them as first and foremost politicians. But when looking at how the personas are carried out, the female party leaders can be seen using numerously more personas than the male ones, especially adding on personal personas. In addition to enacting the traditional female stereotype of having to handle both carrier and family, this may reward them with additional Instagram followers. But when the number of followers is put in relation to surveys of trust and opinion polls, the conclusion is that the party leaders exhibiting masculine coded personas are more prosperous in actual politics.

Under sommaren 2023 präglades Sverige av koranbränningar och ett försämrat säkerhetsläge. Studien undersöker svenska partiledares kriskommunikation på plattformen Instagram under denna period och studiens syfte är således att undersöka hur svenska partiledare använde plattformen Instagram som kommunikationskanal för kriskommunikation under sommaren 2023. Med hjälp av en kvalitativ innehållsanalys, med semiotiska och retoriska inslag, har vi analyserat sju svenska partiledares Instagram-inlägg under denna tidsperiod. Analysen gjordes med hjälp av ett kodschema och endast de inlägg som var relaterade till ämnet analyserades. Studien utgår från en socialkonstruktivistisk teori, gestaltningsteori, samt teorier om medialisering och medielogik. Med hjälp av retoriska begrepp som ethos, pathos och logos samt de semiotiska begreppen denotation, konnotation och myt kunde analysen utvecklas ytterligare. Studiens resultat visar att partiledarna främst använder Instagram för att förmedla information om krisen, upprätthålla en politisk och sakkunnig image, samt påvisa de åtgärder man gör gällande krisen. Partiledarna visar sällan upp en personlig sida utan är sakliga och opersonliga i sin kommunikation. I resultatet går det även att finna en pågående maktkamp, regeringen och oppositionen emellan. De två allianserna är i en påtaglig konflikt gällande vilka som gör mest för landet i krisen. Sammanfattningsvis går det att visa på att Instagram används av politiker för att förmedla fakta till befolkningen och detta sker genom en envägskommunikation. Även om tidigare forskning visar att det är fördelaktigt för en politiker att vara personlig och nära sin publik i en kriskommunikation, är detta inte något vi kan se hos de svenska partiledarna. / During the summer of 2023, Sweden was marked by Quran burnings and a deteriorating security situation. This study examines the crisis communication of Swedish party leaders on Instagram during this period, with the aim of investigating how Swedish party leaders used Instagram as a channel for crisis communication in the summer of 2023. Through a qualitative content analysis, with an incorporation of semiotic and rhetorical elements, we analyzed the Instagram posts of seven Swedish party leaders during this period. The analysis was conducted using a code scheme, and only posts related to the topic were analyzed. The study is based on a social constructivist theory, narrative theory, as well as theories of mediatization and media logic. Using rhetorical concepts such as ethos, pathos, and logos, as well as semiotic concepts like denotation, connation, and myth, the analysis was further developed.  The results of the study showed that Swedish party leaders primarily used Instagram to convey information about the crisis, maintain a political and knowledgeable image, and demonstrate the measures taken regarding the crisis. Party leaders rarely showed a personal side but rather maintained a factual and impersonal communication style. The results also reveal an ongoing power struggle between the government and the opposition. The two alliances are in a noticeable conflict regarding who is doing the right things for the country during the crisis. In summary, it can be shown that Instagram is used by politicans to convey facts to the population, and this occurs through one-way communication. Altough previous research indicates that it is advantageous for a politican to be personal and close to their audience in crisis communication, this is not observed among Swedish party leaders.