Negative campaigning & incivility
Stier, S., Oschatz, C., Clemm von Hohenberg, B., Maier, J., Nai., A., & Kirkizh, N. (2025). When Do Candidates “Go Negative”? A Conjoint Analysis to Unpack the Mechanisms of Negative Campaigning. Electoral Studies. doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2024.102894
Nai, A., Valli, C., Maier, J., & Aaldering, L. (2024). Gendered Backlash Depends on the Context. Reassessing Negative Campaigning Sanctions Against Women Candidates via Large-Scale Comparative Data. Political Communication. doi: 10.1080/10584609.2024.2434930
Maier, J., Nai, A., & Verhaar, N. (2024). More Negative When It Matters Less? Comparing Party Campaign Behaviour in European and National Elections. Journal of European Public Policy. doi: 10.1080/13501763.2024.2404154
Nai, A., & Maier, J. (2024). Polarized populists. Dark campaigns, affective polarization, and the moderating role of populist attitudes. American Behavioral Scientist. doi: 10.1177/000276422412420
Vargiu, C., Nai, A., & Valli, C. (2024). Uncivil Yet Persuasive? Testing the Persuasiveness of Political Incivility and the Moderating Role of Populist Attitudes and Personality Traits. Political Psychology. doi: 10.1111/pops.12969
Vargiu, C., Nai, A., & Garzia, D. (2024). Incivility Does Not Exist: An Experimental Assessment on the Drivers of Incivility Perceptions and their Effects on Candidate Evaluations. The Journal of Politics (in-principle acceptance of stage-1 registered report).
Mendoza, P., Nai, A., & Bos, L. (2024). The fleeting allure of dark campaigns. Backlash from negative campaigning in presence of (better) alternatives. Political Communication. doi: 10.1080/10584609.2024.2314604
Martin, D., & Nai, A. (2024). Deepening the Rift: Negative Campaigning Fosters Affective Polarization in Multiparty Elections. Electoral Studies. doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2024.102745
Nai, A., & Maier, J. (2023). Mediatized campaign attacks fuel affective polarization if perceived as negative. Experimental evidence with American voters. International Journal of Communication. 17, 5246–5267.
Vargiù, C., & Nai, A. (2022). Sincerity over Accuracy: Epistemic Preferences and the Persuasiveness of Uncivil and Simple Rhetoric. International Journal of Communication. 16, 4457–4480.
Nai, A., Tresch, A., & Maier, J. (2022). Tailored negativity. Campaign consultants, candidates’ personality, and attack politics in the 2019 Swiss election. Swiss Political Science Review. doi: 10.1111/spsr.12525
Nai, A., Tresch, A., & Maier, J. (2022). Hardwired to attack. Candidates’ personality traits and negative campaigning in three European countries. Acta Politica. doi: 10.1057/s41269-021-00222-7
Petkevic, V., & Nai, A. (2021). Political Attacks in 280 Characters or Less. A New Tool for the Automated Classification of Campaign Negativity on Social Media. American Politics Research. doi: 10.1177/1532673X211055676
Verhulsdonk, I., Nai, A., & Karp, J. (2021). Are Political Attacks a Laughing Matter? Three Experiments on Political Humor and the Effectiveness of Negative Campaigning. Political Research Quarterly. doi: 10.1177/10659129211023590
Nai, A., & Maier, J. (2021). The Wrath of Candidates. Drivers of Fear and Enthusiasm Appeals in Election Campaigns Across the Globe. Journal of Political Marketing. doi: doi: 10.1080/15377857.2021.1930327
Maier, J., & Nai, A. (2021). When conflict fuels negativity. A large-scale comparative investigation of the contextual drivers of negative campaigning in elections worldwide. The Leadership Quarterly. doi: 10.1016/j.leaqua.2021.101564
Nai, A., Medeiros, M., Maier, M., Maier, J., (2021). Euroscepticism and the use of negative, uncivil and emotional campaigns in the 2019 European Parliament Election: A Winning Combination. European Union Politics. doi: 10.1177/14651165211035675
Maier, M., Jalali, C., Maier, J., Nai, A., & Stier, S. (2021). When do parties put Europe in the center? Evidence from the 2019 European Parliamentary election campaign. Politics. doi: 10.1177/02633957211008348
Maier, J., & Nai, A. (2021). Mapping the drivers of negative campaigning. Insights from a candidate survey. International Political Science Review. doi: 10.1177/0192512121994512
Nai, A., & Maier, J. (2020). Dark necessities? Candidates’ aversive personality traits and negative campaigning in the 2018 American Midterms. Electoral Studies. doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2020.102233
Nai, A., & Maier, J. (2020). Is negative campaigning a matter of taste? Political attacks, incivility, and the moderating role of individual differences. American Politics Research. doi: 10.1177/1532673X20965548
Nai, A., & Otto, L. (2020). When they go low, we gloat. How trait and state Schadenfreude moderate the perception and effect of negative political messages. Journal of Media Psychology. doi: 10.1027/1864-1105/a000283
Valli, C., & Nai, A. (2020). Attack politics from Albania to Zimbabwe. A large-scale comparative study on the drivers of negative campaigning. International Political Science Review. doi: 10.1177/0192512120946410
Maier, J., & Nai, A. (2020). Roaring candidates in the spotlight. Campaign negativity, emotions, and media coverage in 107 national elections. The International Journal of Press/Politics. doi: 10.1177/1940161220919093
Seeberg, H. B., & Nai, A. (2020). Undermining a rival party’s issue competence through negative campaigning: Experimental evidence from the USA, Denmark, and Australia. Political Studies. doi: 10.1177/0032321720916162
Gerstlé, J., & Nai, A. (2019). Negativity, emotionality and populist rhetoric in election campaigns worldwide, and their effects on media attention and electoral success. European Journal of Communication, 34(4) 410–444.
Nai, A., & Martinez i Coma, F. (2019). Losing in the polls, time pressure, and the decision to go negative in referendum campaigns. Politics & Governance, 7(2), 278–296.
Nai, A., & Sciarini, P. (2018). Why 'going negative'? Strategic and situational determinants of personal attacks in Swiss direct democratic votes. Journal of Political Marketing, 17(4), 382-417.
Nai, A., Martinez i Coma, F., and Maier, J. (2018). Donald Trump, populism, and the age of extremes: Comparing the personality traits and campaigning style of Trump and other leaders worldwide. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 49(3), 609–643.
* recipient of the Top Cited Paper Award 2019-2020
* recipient of the Wiley Top Downloaded Paper Award 2018-2019
Nai, A. (2018). Going negative, worldwide. Towards a general understanding of determinants and targets of negative campaigning. Government & Opposition. doi: 10.1017/gov.2018.32
Nai, A. (2018). Fear and loathing in populist campaigns? Comparing the communication style of populists and non-populists in elections worldwide. Journal of Political Marketing. doi: 10.1080/15377857.2018.1491439
Nai, A., & Seeberg, HB. (2018). A series of persuasive events. Sequencing effects of negative and positive messages on party evaluations and perceptions of negativity. Journal of Marketing Communications, 24(4): 412-432.
Nai, A., & Maier, J. (2018). Perceived personality and campaign style of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Personality and Individual Differences, 121: 80-83.
Nai, A. (2013). What really matters is which camp goes dirty. Differential effects of negative campaigning on turnout during Swiss federal ballots. European Journal of Political Research, 52(1): 44-70.