Social Media Networks of Candidates and Intra-Party Competition in Finland

• In Event: Intraparty Politics: Groups, Networks, and Competition

Abstract

This paper uses data from the most recent parliamentary elections in Finland to study the relation between candidate social media networks, inter and intra-party competition, and electoral success. The Finnish electoral system combines open-list proportional representation and mandatory preferential voting. As a consequence, it is characterised by a high degree of both intra and inter-party competition. Finnish candidates and representatives make extensive use of social media channels during electoral campaigns and while in office. Using network analysis and community detection algorithms, we compute new measures of inter and intra-party competition based on social media interactions between the candidates and compare them to measures previously used in the literature. Linking the network analysis results to candidate survey data from the Comparative Candidates Survey, as well as district-level characteristics, we are able to analyse the relation between intra and inter-party political competition and electoral success.

Authors

• Iulia Cioroianu, University of Bath

• Hilde Roza Coffe, Victoria University of Wellington