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Annemarie Walter

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences

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Biography

Annemarie Walter is Assistant Professor in the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham. Previously she was Assistant Professor in Political Communication at the Department of Communication Science of VU University Amsterdam. She received her PhD in 2012 at Amsterdam University (UVA) on a dissertation entitled "Negative Campaigning in Western Europe: Beyond the Vote-Seeking Perspective." In the past she has been visiting scholar at Rutgers University New Brunswick, the University of North Carolina, the University of Delaware and the University of Koblenz-Landau. She has been a recipient of a Nottingham Research Fellowship, Marie Curie Global Fellowhip, Marie Curie Inter European Fellowship and a British Academy Small Grant.

Her research interests are negative campaigning, political incivility, political advertising, election debates, conspiracy beliefs, political scandals, moral leadership and antisemitism. Her work draws upon theories from the fields of political behaviour, political communication, political psychology, media studies, sociology and social psychology. She collects data using surveys, survey embedded experiments, content analysis of media sources, archival research and qualitative interviews. Her work has been published in international peer-reviewed journals such as Comparative Political Studies, Political Studies, Party Politics, Acta Politica and the Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics. She frequently acts as an expert on Dutch election campaigns and conspiracy beliefs in the media and at public events. In 2023 she was an instructor at the ECPR Summer School in Research Methods teaching the course Interviews as Method of Data Collection in Times of Polarisation.

From January 2023 onwards she is available again for in-person supervision of PhD theses in the fields of political marketing, political communication, political psychology and political behavior.

Research Summary

Turning a Blind Eye to Scandal (Marie Curie Global Fellowship Project Number 892951- ACRONYM TURNEYES)

Why are some politicians electorally 'punished' for immoral behavior while others are not and how can we explain voters' heterogeneous responses to identical moral transgressions? Despite decades of study, these two questions remain unanswered. Understanding voters' responses to politicians' immoral behavior is important as scandals reduce citizens' trust in both politicians and the political system, and lead to dissatisfaction with representative democracy. When politicians can avoid accountability for immoral actions, they may be personally protected from consequences, yet democracy itself suffers.

This study is the first to examine how voters' responses to politicians' moral transgressions -including voting behavior- are driven by (1) individual characteristics such as voters' moral identity, moral principles and partisan identity, and (2) characteristics of the political context. This study aims to provide a testable theoretical model of voter response to political scandal.

The outgoing phase of this fellowship was spend at the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Delaware (Host: David Redlawsk).

Recent Publications

  • POLJAK, Z and WALTER, A S, 2023. Parties’ parliamentary attack behaviour throughout the electoral cycle. Party Politics.
  • WALTER, A. S. and POLJAK, Z., 2023. Incivility from the UK prime minister’s dispatch box: A comparative study of PM question time attacks, 2010–2020. In: FELDMAN, O, ed., Political debasement: Incivility, contempt, and humiliation in parliamentary and public discourse Springer Nature. 69-90
  • HUGO DROCHON and ANNEMARIE WALTER, 2022. ‘Conspiracy Thinking in Europe and America: A Comparative Study’, Political Studies, Vol. 70, No. 2, 2022, pp. 483-501.
  • WALTER, A. S. and PRAAG, P., 2022. Politieke partijen en polarisatie. In: DEKKER, P., ed., Politieke polarisatie in Nederland Skanderbeg Books. 113-124
  • POLJAK, Z and WALTER, A S, 2023. Parties’ parliamentary attack behaviour throughout the electoral cycle. Party Politics.
  • WALTER, A. S. and POLJAK, Z., 2023. Incivility from the UK prime minister’s dispatch box: A comparative study of PM question time attacks, 2010–2020. In: FELDMAN, O, ed., Political debasement: Incivility, contempt, and humiliation in parliamentary and public discourse Springer Nature. 69-90
  • HUGO DROCHON and ANNEMARIE WALTER, 2022. ‘Conspiracy Thinking in Europe and America: A Comparative Study’, Political Studies, Vol. 70, No. 2, 2022, pp. 483-501.
  • WALTER, A. S. and PRAAG, P., 2022. Politieke partijen en polarisatie. In: DEKKER, P., ed., Politieke polarisatie in Nederland Skanderbeg Books. 113-124
  • RIEMERSMA, T., SLINGERLAND, W., DIEPENMAAT, F., WALTER, A., TUINER, B. DEN and LANKAMP, E., 2022. National Integrity Assessment Aruba Saxion University of Applied Sciences.
  • WALTER, A. S. and LIPSITZ, K., 2021. How Moral Value Commitments Shape Responses to Political Civility and Incivility. American Politics Research. 49(4), 359-367
  • WALTER, A S and REDLAWSK, D., 2021. The Effects of Politician’s Moral Violations on Voters’ Moral Emotions Political Behavior.
  • BON, E. V. and WALTER, A. S., 2021. The 2016 EU Referendum Campaign on Social Media: Incivil MPs and Campaign Groups?. In: Political Incivility in the Parliamentary, Electoral and Media Arena: Crossing Boundaries Routledge. 161-180
  • WALTER, A. S. and RIDOUT, T. N., 2021. Voters’ Emotional Responses to Negative Campaign Messages.. In: Political Incivility in the Parliamentary, Electoral and Media Arena: Crossing Boundaries Routledge. 124-142
  • WALTER, A. S., 2021. Introduction: The Study of Political Incivility and Its Challenges. In: WALTER, A. S., ed., Political Incivility in the Parliamentary, Electoral and Media Arena: Crossing Boundaries Routledge.
  • WALTER, A. S., 2021. Conclusion: The Study of Political Incivility and How to Move Forward.. In: WALTER, A. S., ed., Political Incivility in the Parliamentary, Electoral and Media Arena: Crossing Boundaries Routledge. 236-242
  • OFFRINGA, J., MEIJER, M., RADEMAKER, S., GROEN, R., GEBOERS, M., SMIT, V., LAK, M., KEIZER, R., PLASMAN, N., WALTER, A. and VOORHOEVE, J., 2021. Andere spelers. In: VOORHOEVE, J., RADEMAKER, S. and KEIZER, R., eds., Wereld in Beweging Boom Bestuurskunde. 441-510
  • WALTER, A S, 2020. Politicians’ Use of Moral Appeals in British Political Advertising 1983-2017. In: FELDMAN, O, ed., The Rhetoric of Political Leadership: Logic and Emotion in Public Discourse, Edgar Elwar Publishing Ltd. 156-161
  • WILLS, L. and WALTER, A. S., 2020. Civil society organisations and international human rights: research summary Equality and Human Rights Commission.
  • ANNEMARIE S. WALTER, 2019. Fighting with Fire: Negative Campaigning in the 2015 UK General Election Campaign as Reported by the Print Media. In: OFER FELDMAN and SONJA ZMERLI, eds., The Psychology of Political Communicators: How Politicians, Culture, and the Media Construct and Shape Public Discourse Routledge. 123-142
  • ANNEMARIE S. WALTER and DAVID P. REDLAWSK, 2019. Explaining Voters’ Heterogeneous Responses to Politicians’ Immoral Behaviour Political Psychology.
  • ANNEMARIE S. WALTER and CEES VAN DER EIJK, 2019. Measures of Campaign Negativity: Comparing Approaches and Eliminating Partisan Bias Harvard International Journal of Press Politics.
  • WALTER, A. S. and EIJK, C. VAN DER, 2019. Unintended consequences of negative campaigning: Backlash and second-preference boost effects in a multi-party context British Journal of Politics and International Relations. 21(3), 612–629
  • TOM VAN DER MEER, ANNEMARIE S. WALTER and PETER VAN AELST, 2015. How Election Debates Influence Voters’ Ability and Accuracy to Position Parties in the 2010 Dutch Election Campaign Political Communication.
  • ANNEMARIE S. WALTER and ALESSANDRO NAI, 2015. Where to Go From Here in the Study of Negative Campaigning. In: ALESSANDRO NAI and ANNEMARIE S. WALTER, eds., New Perspectives on Negative Campaigning: Why Attack Politics Matters ECPR Press. 327-333
  • TRAVIS N. RIDOUT and ANNEMARIE S. WALTER, 2015. How the News Media Amplify Negative Messages. In: ALESSANDRO NAI and ANNEMARIE S. WALTER, eds., New Perspectives on Negative Campaigning: Why Attack Politics Matters ECPR Press. 267-285
  • ALESSANDRO NAI and ANNEMARIE S. WALTER, 2015. How Negative Campaigning Impinges on the Political Game: A Literature Overview. In: ALESSANDRO NAI and ANNEMARIE S. WALTER, eds., New Perspectives on Negative Campaigning: Why Attack Politics Matters ECPR Press. 235-248
  • ANNEMARIE S. WALTER and ALESSANDRO NAI, 2015. Explaining the Use of Attack Behaviour in the Electoral Battlefield: A Literature Overview. In: ALESSANDRO NAI and ANNEMARIE S. WALTER, eds., New Perspectives on Negative Campaigning: Why Attack Politics Matters ECPR Press. 97-114
  • ALESSANDRO NAI and ANNEMARIE S. WALTER, 2015. The War of Words: the Art of Negative Campaigning. In: ALESSANDRO NAI and ANNEMARIE S. WALTER, eds., New Perspectives on Negative Campaigning: Why Attack Politics Matters ECPR Press. 1-31
  • JENS TENSCHER, KAROLINA KOC-MICHALSKA, DARREN G LILLEKER, JURI MYKKÄNEN, ANNEMARIE S WALTER, ANDREJ FINDOR, CARLOS JALALI and JOLÁN RÓKA, 2015. The Professionals Speak: The Practitioners' Perspectives on Professional Election Campaigning European Journal of Communication. 31(2), 95-119
  • JAN KLEINNIJENHUIS and ANNEMARIE S. WALTER, 2014. News, Discussion and Associative Issue Ownership: Instability at the Micro Level versus Stability at the Macro Level Harvard International Journal Press/Politics.
  • ANNEMARIE S. WALTER, WOUTER VAN DER BRUG and PHILIP VAN PRAAG, 2014. When the Stakes are High: Party Competition and Negative Campaigning Comparative Political Studies. 47(4), 550-573
  • ANNEMARIE S. WALTER and PHILIP VAN PRAAG, 2014. De omslag in de verkiezingsstrijd. De rol van het televisiedebat in de campagne van 2012.. In: PHILIP VAN PRAAG and KEES BRANTS, eds., Media, Macht en Politiek: de verkiezingen van 2012 AMB. 125-144
  • PHILIP VAN PRAAG and ANNEMARIE S. WALTER, 2014. Het amateurisme voorbij. De professionalisering van Nederlandse verkiezingscampagnes. In: PHILIP VAN PRAAG and KEES BRANTS, eds., Media, Macht en Politiek: de verkiezingen van 2012 AMB. 21-44
  • ANNEMARIE S. WALTER and TRAVIS N. RIDOUT, 2013. Party System Change and Negative Campaigning in New Zealand Party Politics.
  • ANNEMARIE S. WALTER, 2013. Negative Campaigning in Western Europe: Similar or Different? Political Studies. 62(S1), 42-60
  • ANNEMARIE S. WALTER and WOUTER VAN DER BRUG, 2013. When the gloves come off: Inter-party variation in negative campaigning in Dutch elections, 1981–2010 Acta Politica. 48, 367–388
  • ANNEMARIE S. WALTER, 2013. Women on the Battleground: Does Gender Condition the Use of Negative Campaigning? Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties. 32(2), 154-176
  • JAN KLEINNIJENHUIS, JANET TAKENS, ANITA VAN HOOF and ANNEMARIE S. WALTER, 2013. Gevaren van de medialogica voor de democratie. In: REMIEG AERTS and PETER DE GOEDE, eds., NWO Omstreden Democratie Boom. 111-130
  • ANNEMARIE S. WALTER, 2012. Choosing the Enemy: Attack Behaviour in a Multiparty System Party Politics.
  • ANNEMARIE S. WALTER, 2010. Negative Campaigning across Different Communication Channels: Different Ballgames? Harvard International Journal Press/Politics. 15(4), 441-461
  • ANNEMARIE S. WALTER, 2009. Met Bos bent u de klos: Negatieve campagnevoering tijdens de Tweede Kamerverkiezingen van 2002, 2003 en 2006. In: GERARD VOERMAN, ed., Jaarboek Documentatiecentrum Nederlandse Politieke Partijen 2007 DNPP. 128-150

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