Replication Data for: Going public against institutional constraints? Analyzing the online presence intensity of 2014 European Parliament election candidates

Political parties and candidates have not been immune to the changes that the Internet and social media have introduced in electoral campaigns. Yet, as the use of digital media by political elites is becoming a norm in the United States, in Europe, the decision to develop an online presence depends on the cross-national differences regarding candidates’ constraints and incentives. European Parliament elections present an exceptional comparative opportunity to measure this potential diversity. Using an original database on the online presence of more than 5000 candidates competing under the label of incumbent parties in 2014, we demonstrate that there are two relevant groups of nonadopters, and that candidates’ online campaign intensity varies significantly depending on incumbency and the ballot structure in their countries.

政党与候选人皆未能置身于互联网与社交媒体为选举竞选活动带来的变革之外。然而，尽管政治精英使用数字媒体已成为美国的常态，但在欧洲，是否搭建线上竞选布局的决策，取决于各国间候选人所面临的约束与激励机制的差异。欧洲议会选举为衡量这类潜在差异提供了绝佳的比较研究契机。本研究依托2014年欧洲议会选举的原创数据库，该数据库涵盖了逾5000名以在任政党名义参选的候选人的线上竞选情况，研究结果表明，存在两类值得关注的未采用数字媒体开展竞选的候选人群体，且候选人的线上竞选投入强度会因所在国家的现任任职身份与投票结构而存在显著差异。