Master thesis

My interest in personalisation of politicians started with the rise of Pim Fortuin. It got me thinking about the reasons why you vote: do you vote for the politician, his ideas or a little bit of both? The Internet also caused a change in the political communication field. Putting those facts together, I wondered if online personalisation would be used during the European Elections of 2009. I conducted a content analysis and semi-structured interviews with campaign managers of six political parties.

After months of coding, interviewing and writing, the result is ‘Bringing Europe to the Voter‘ (on scribd).

I’m planning to write a summary, so if you are too busy (or lazy) to read my whole thesis you can wait for the summary. I would love to hear your comments, so contact me. As I didn’t include acknowledgements in my thesis, I would like to share them here:

Acknowledgements

Writing a master thesis is not only a struggle with science, most of all is it a struggle with yourself. Graduating is almost a way of living. Fortunately, I didn’t have to do it all by myself and that is why I’d like to mention some people.

First of all I would like to thank my thesis supervisor Rosa van Santen. She provided great assistance in the process of writing the thesis. Her enthusiasm about the subject encouraged me to pick up this research. Furthermore, I’d like to thank my second supervisor Kees Brants, whose comments were of great value for me.

Moreover, I am very thankful to the campaign managers I interviewed: Michael Sijbom (CDA), Jeroen van Berkel (PvdA), Hans van Heijningen (SP), Jaap de Bruijn (GroenLinks), Boudewijn Revis (VVD) and Fleur Gräper (D66). They were very helpful and all willing to answer my numerous questions.

Next, I would like to thank my friends: Merel, Tomoko, Machiel, Annerieke and Guusje. For being there when I needed them; either on the phone to complain, in a bar to take of my mind or with a fresh prepared meal to eat healthy for a change. A special thanks to Kim for revising and taking the time to correct the numerous mistakes I made.

Above all, I would like to thank Maarten. This thesis would’ve looked very different if it wasn’t for his support, patience, knowledge and computer skills. Words can’t explain how much that means to me. Thanks for being there (and here).