Thirty Years of Political Campaigning in Central and Eastern Europe

This edited volume maps the development of the use of political campaigning and marketing techniques in countries of the former Communist Bloc over the last thirty years. Focusing on the shift from propaganda to political marketing, and from manipulation to persuasion, the book consists of a series of case studies of countries in Central Europe, Eastern Europe, the Baltics, and the Balkans that outline the history, development and current state of political marketing in each country. The authors explore political parties and their behaviour ahead of elections, and show the changes in political culture and practices that parties have undergone in order to create more or less successful campaigns.

Otto Eibl is Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science, Masaryk University, Czech Republic. His research focuses on political communication, branding and marketing, and he also teaches courses on these subjects.

Miloš Gregor is Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science, Masaryk University, Czech Republic. His research interests include political marketing, branding, and public relations in politics. He teaches courses on political communication and marketing, propaganda, disinformation, and fake news.

“The use of political marketing tactics and strategy in electoral politics is now a well-developed field. Eibl and Gregor examine how this paradigm shift has played out in former Communist Bloc countries in their well-edited book, and argue convincingly that the future success of these political systems will hinge on their continued use of these methods.” (Bruce I. Newman, Professor of Marketing, DePaul University, USA, and Founding Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Political Marketing)

“A generation on from the dramatic events that swept through Central and Eastern Europe, this hugely valuable volume provides a careful examination of what has happened during the intervening decades. Packed with compelling case studies from a team of leading scholars, the book makes a major contribution to comparative political communication analysis. It does so by offering acute insights into each of the countries featured that collectively showcase the varied nature and contrasting development of campaigning within a region that has experienced and continues to experience significant change.” (Dominic Wring, Professor of Political Communication, Loughborough University, UK)

“This ground-breaking book is the first major work to look comprehensively at the application and evolution of modern political marketing and campaigning in Central and Eastern Europe. Many see this geographic area as the heartland and boundary region of Mittel Europe, where democracy has been re-ignited, flourished, fostered and grown against a historic background of Soviet Russian occupation and the detritus of failed autocratic or nationalist fascist regimes. Well done Otto Eibl and Miloš Gregor for giving us insight into how democracy and political marketing works in these key states. Each country is looked at in depth and a narrative developed outlining the core issues and techniques adopted in modern political communication. In many ways it is a must buy and to be read book on how democracy and campaigning works in this vast area of modern Europe. Democracy and political campaigning is burning brightly in Prague, Tallinn, Warsaw and across the capitals, legislatures and media in this region and the authors have made sure the wider world understands how it works and why.” (Phil Harris, Westminster Professor of Marketing and Public Affairs, University of Chester, UK)

“Although there is a widely held view that campaigns matter, there has been surprisingly little research on political campaigning in Central and Eastern Europe. Eibl and Gregor’s volume provides fascinating and detailed coverage of campaigns in the region, highlighting not just the context of politics and the legal frameworks in 18 different countries, but how and why campaigning has evolved over time. The book is a valuable resource and deserves to be on the bookshelves of scholars of comparative and electoral politics as well of those studying the politics of the region.” (Tim Haughton, Reader in European Politics, University of Birmingham, UK)