Abstract:

The importance of studying political agendas – the list of issues political actors devote attention to – cannot be overstated. Attention is a scarce resource in politics and, at the same time, it is a precondition for every kind of political action. The Comparative Agendas Project (CAP), a network comprising 18 universities from different member states, developed a distinct methodological approach to study the quantitative flow of issue attention through time and institutions. This approach allows measuring streams of influence and power within single political systems and, at the same time, systematically compare the workings of different political systems. This presentation will provide an overview over the theoretical and methodological approach adopted by the CAP project, as well as other more recent spin-off projects. The analysis of Portuguese agendas is about to kick off in the coming months and there is no better moment to develop new ideas on how to contribute and exploit the massive amount of text data available.

Date: 2013-Oct-23     Time: 14:00:00     Room: 336

For more information:

• bruno.g.martins@ist.utl.pt