Research Statement
(Updated Spring 2020)
My research focuses on the interlinked aspects of the mandate theory of democracy, as a critical mechanism for achieving voter and policy representation, and the role of media in these processes. My publications span newer and established democracies, including the European Union (EU), and rely on original data collected and coded for the purposes of this research. In my work I utilize research tools such as archival work and content analysis of original documents, multivariate regression analysis, and elite surveys. In addition to my solo-authored publications, I have co-authored with scholars from Australia, Austria, Canada, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the US.
I co-edited a volume assessing the achievements and challenges in Bulgaria’s transition, nearly 30 years after the first democratic elections, with contributions from scholars conducting research on political parties, media, migration and refugees, judicial reform, and relations with the EU.
Media accounts of differences in party positions
Research I have conducted demonstrates that political parties in Bulgaria articulate distinct issue positions (U Michigan chapter), as a first step in mandate representation. This finding is consistent with the saliency theory of democracy, and my research is among the first to apply the latter to specific election promises in a newer democracy. One of my articles further focuses on whether greater differences among parties help voters differentiate among them, another crucial step in the mandate attribution process. I find that this holds for contentious topics such as democratization and transitions to a market economy across six post-communist countries (PP 2016). My research makes several contributions on the role of media in highlighting differences among parties and thus helping voters distinguish among them, a topic that is severely understudied in the context of newer democracies. I conducted the first study of media coverage of individual pledges in a post-communist environment, where I find that commitments on economic policy are more likely to be printed in the news (PPQ 2017). A related project determined that media outlets are likely to utilize human interest framing of stories to attract readers’ attention (EJC 2012). Pledges by the main contenders in each election are also more likely to be published (PPQ 2017), as a reflection of the overall utilization of conflict game framing of news (JMCQ 2013), especially for highly contentious issues (EJC 2012). This line of work also demonstrates that while print media tend to rely on government officials as sources of information (CEJC 2012), governing parties are not favored when election pledges are printed (PPQ 2017), hinting at an independent role of media in the representation process. That role though is undermined by trends across the post-communist countries of newspaper ownership by businesses with non-media interests, as one of the indicators of declining press freedom in the region (EEPS 2015). I extend this research by applying the framework of media reporting of pledges in Spanish presidential elections. I am also member of a project on assessing the tone of coverage of the Illinois gubernatorial race in 2018.
Parties’ policy commitments
Political parties in Bulgaria fulfill near a majority of their election promises (EEP 2013; U Michigan), an indication of parties’ commitment to their policy priorities within the mandate representation model. Pledge fulfillment in the country is facilitated by the legislative strength of political parties (EEP 2013) and of media reports of pledges (Political Communication). More broadly, across different democracies, control of the chief-executive, lack of power-sharing, and access to economic resources greatly favor pledge fulfillment (AJPS 2017). Voter awareness of pre-election policy commitments also encourages government parties in post-communist democracies to act on the former (PP 2016). Relatedly, voters’ ability to attribute clarity of responsibility in times of economic crisis, expressed through the cohesion of the incumbent facilitates the latter’s engagement in economic voting to punish governing parties (PP 2015). While these studies highlight the conditions under which mandate representation occurs in different types of democracies, my research also shows that within the EU, governing parties’ positions on pension policy do not impact reforms in the latter, signaling a breakage in the mandate mechanism in this area (Palgrave). In a newer project, I study the role of pledges in intra-party democracy in Bulgaria, utilizing original survey data that I collected.
Supranational Democracy
In applying notions of mandate democracy to the supranational system of the EU, I coded the first dataset of Europarties' pledges issued during European Parliament (EP) elections and subsequent policy priorities by the European Commission (EC), and my research explores the areas in which the two overlap (EUP 2018). The likelihood that Europarties’ pledges are adopted as EC priorities is higher for those policy areas where the EP has a stronger say to modify Commission proposals, hinting at a mechanism for representation through EP elections (Party Politics). Another venue for alleviating shortcomings of democracy in the EU is the Office of the European Ombudsman (EO), one of the few institutions through which EU citizens can directly question the decisions of other bodies, in particular the unelected EC. My research indicates that an increasing number of complainants exercise their citizenship right for greater accountability of EU institutions, and that the latter are likely to respond positively, especially during follow up by the EO (JCMS 2015). My book project on the CoR further investigates issues of representation within the complex framework of the EU.
My work has been published in the American Journal of Political Science, Electoral Studies, East European Politics, European Journal of Communications, Journal of Common Market Studies, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Party Politics, Political Communication, and Politics & Policy, among others. For a full list of my publications, please, select from the drop-down menu on the top bar of this page.
My ResearchGate, GoogleScholar, and ORCID profiles are accessible through the respective links.
My research focuses on the interlinked aspects of the mandate theory of democracy, as a critical mechanism for achieving voter and policy representation, and the role of media in these processes. My publications span newer and established democracies, including the European Union (EU), and rely on original data collected and coded for the purposes of this research. In my work I utilize research tools such as archival work and content analysis of original documents, multivariate regression analysis, and elite surveys. In addition to my solo-authored publications, I have co-authored with scholars from Australia, Austria, Canada, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the US.
I co-edited a volume assessing the achievements and challenges in Bulgaria’s transition, nearly 30 years after the first democratic elections, with contributions from scholars conducting research on political parties, media, migration and refugees, judicial reform, and relations with the EU.
Media accounts of differences in party positions
Research I have conducted demonstrates that political parties in Bulgaria articulate distinct issue positions (U Michigan chapter), as a first step in mandate representation. This finding is consistent with the saliency theory of democracy, and my research is among the first to apply the latter to specific election promises in a newer democracy. One of my articles further focuses on whether greater differences among parties help voters differentiate among them, another crucial step in the mandate attribution process. I find that this holds for contentious topics such as democratization and transitions to a market economy across six post-communist countries (PP 2016). My research makes several contributions on the role of media in highlighting differences among parties and thus helping voters distinguish among them, a topic that is severely understudied in the context of newer democracies. I conducted the first study of media coverage of individual pledges in a post-communist environment, where I find that commitments on economic policy are more likely to be printed in the news (PPQ 2017). A related project determined that media outlets are likely to utilize human interest framing of stories to attract readers’ attention (EJC 2012). Pledges by the main contenders in each election are also more likely to be published (PPQ 2017), as a reflection of the overall utilization of conflict game framing of news (JMCQ 2013), especially for highly contentious issues (EJC 2012). This line of work also demonstrates that while print media tend to rely on government officials as sources of information (CEJC 2012), governing parties are not favored when election pledges are printed (PPQ 2017), hinting at an independent role of media in the representation process. That role though is undermined by trends across the post-communist countries of newspaper ownership by businesses with non-media interests, as one of the indicators of declining press freedom in the region (EEPS 2015). I extend this research by applying the framework of media reporting of pledges in Spanish presidential elections. I am also member of a project on assessing the tone of coverage of the Illinois gubernatorial race in 2018.
Parties’ policy commitments
Political parties in Bulgaria fulfill near a majority of their election promises (EEP 2013; U Michigan), an indication of parties’ commitment to their policy priorities within the mandate representation model. Pledge fulfillment in the country is facilitated by the legislative strength of political parties (EEP 2013) and of media reports of pledges (Political Communication). More broadly, across different democracies, control of the chief-executive, lack of power-sharing, and access to economic resources greatly favor pledge fulfillment (AJPS 2017). Voter awareness of pre-election policy commitments also encourages government parties in post-communist democracies to act on the former (PP 2016). Relatedly, voters’ ability to attribute clarity of responsibility in times of economic crisis, expressed through the cohesion of the incumbent facilitates the latter’s engagement in economic voting to punish governing parties (PP 2015). While these studies highlight the conditions under which mandate representation occurs in different types of democracies, my research also shows that within the EU, governing parties’ positions on pension policy do not impact reforms in the latter, signaling a breakage in the mandate mechanism in this area (Palgrave). In a newer project, I study the role of pledges in intra-party democracy in Bulgaria, utilizing original survey data that I collected.
Supranational Democracy
In applying notions of mandate democracy to the supranational system of the EU, I coded the first dataset of Europarties' pledges issued during European Parliament (EP) elections and subsequent policy priorities by the European Commission (EC), and my research explores the areas in which the two overlap (EUP 2018). The likelihood that Europarties’ pledges are adopted as EC priorities is higher for those policy areas where the EP has a stronger say to modify Commission proposals, hinting at a mechanism for representation through EP elections (Party Politics). Another venue for alleviating shortcomings of democracy in the EU is the Office of the European Ombudsman (EO), one of the few institutions through which EU citizens can directly question the decisions of other bodies, in particular the unelected EC. My research indicates that an increasing number of complainants exercise their citizenship right for greater accountability of EU institutions, and that the latter are likely to respond positively, especially during follow up by the EO (JCMS 2015). My book project on the CoR further investigates issues of representation within the complex framework of the EU.
My work has been published in the American Journal of Political Science, Electoral Studies, East European Politics, European Journal of Communications, Journal of Common Market Studies, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Party Politics, Political Communication, and Politics & Policy, among others. For a full list of my publications, please, select from the drop-down menu on the top bar of this page.
My ResearchGate, GoogleScholar, and ORCID profiles are accessible through the respective links.