UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations – Panel Discussion
Tuesday, October 22, 2024
12:15 PM
UCLA School of Law, Rm 1314
385 Charles E Young Drive East
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Elections have shown that voters can move, between candidates but also to vote at all. Do we know what type of political messaging moves an electorate, what resonates, what persuades? It is an age-old question that has occupied campaign and communication strategists, politicians, political advisors, and media experts, among others, since political campaigning began. Celebrity endorsements are often courted and always gratefully received. But to what extent can endorsements by celebrities such as Taylor Swift, Dick Cheney or Liz Cheney actually move the needle?
In an environment where politics appear calcified, where communication is hampered by disinformation and by extreme polarization, where issues are wrapped up in questions of identity and personal values, both notoriously hard to change – what can make the difference? Is there something we can learn from recent elections elsewhere, such as in Europe? What are we not seeing, what are we not understanding?
