The fulfilment of election pledges

Abstract

Political candidates make specific promises, also called election pledges, to voters during election campaigns and endeavour to keep those promises if they have the power to do so after the elections. The chapter first identifies the importance of this behaviour in theories of democratic representation. Campaign promises are highlighted by the mandate theory of democracy, and the main propositions of liberal democratic theories also imply that campaign promises should be important. The chapter then reviews the latest comparative research on election pledges. Parties in all contexts make election pledges, but there are large differences across parties and countries in the practice of pledge keeping. These differences can to some extent be explained by theories of party competition and democratic institutions. The chapter then turns to recent and ongoing research on citizens’ responses to promise making and keeping.