Party manifestos

Party manifestos are one of the most consistent and comprehensive sources to study parties’ policy preferences. Written before an election in an oftentimes democratic process within the party they present the parties’ self-ascribed and unified policy positions. They normally cover a broad range of policy topics, while especially emphasizing those issues most salient to the party. Manifestos have four main functions: Parties use them to communicate their policy preferences to prospective voters and competing parties; they serve as guidelines for parliamentarians; and they contribute to the party’s unity and self-reflection. While some critics emphasize that manifestos only have a small readership, research has shown that the media does a good job in communicating manifesto content. Even more importantly voters should care what is written in manifestos, as the policy preferences and pledges made in manifestos have a huge impact during coalition building and on the policy output of government parties.