Comunicação estratégica e campanhas eleitorais

: o caso do Partido Socialista nas eleições legislativas de 2005 e de 2022

Abstract

This Master's Dissertation analyzes the communication strategies of the Socialist Party (PS) in the 2005 and 2022 Legislative Elections, and how they were perceived by Portuguese citizens. Therefore, the theoretical framework analyzes relevant themes such as Political Communication and its complementary concepts, Strategic Communication in an electoral context and Electoral Campaigns and Portuguese Legislative Elections, with emphasis on the 2005 and 2022 Legislative Elections. The aim of this research is to study the Electoral Campaigns of the Socialist Party (PS) in 2005 and 2022, to understand what communication strategies were used, what changes emerged over time, what political messages were transmitted and how they were perceived by Portuguese citizens. To answer the starting question “How were the Socialist Party's communication strategies in the 2005 and 2022 Legislative Elections perceived by Portuguese citizens?”, we sought the perspective of Press Officers and Journalists (with a direct or indirect link to the Socialist Party), as well as data from the Questionnaire Survey, answered by Portuguese citizens. In this way, a mixed methodology was applied, consisting of semistructured interviews, a questionnaire survey and a literature review, in order to contextualize the concepts of political communication, strategic communication in an electoral context and, in a national approach, the Portuguese legislative elections. The analysis of the 2005 and 2022 campaigns revealed that the Socialist Party (PS) adjusted its communication to the concerns of voters. In 2005, the PS relied more on traditional media, while in 2022 it adopted online social networks for more direct interaction with citizens. The questionnaires and interviews confirmed that voters found these changes effective and that the personalization of party leaders was also a strategy to seek to strengthen public recognition and trust.

Date of Award	30 Jan 2025
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	João Simão (Supervisor)