Using an innovative mix of cross-national analyses, original survey experiments, and detailed case studies across advanced democracies, Promises Made, Promises Kept provides a compelling exploration of how globalization constrains domestic politics and transforms the nature of democratic representation. The authors show how globalization reduces the ability of governing parties to keep their campaign promises, and how parties strategically adapt to this by making vaguer promises or shifting their rhetoric to manage voter expectations. These adaptations have significant consequences: they reshape democratic competition and have contributed to the growing appeal of populist messaging. This timely and accessible book offers fresh insight into why promises are broken, how parties adapt under pressure, and what this means for voters, institutions, and the future of democratic politics. Essential reading for anyone concerned with the health of democracy in an interdependent world. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

‘This is the best book to date on the effect of globalization on democracy. Schneider and Thomson demonstrate that globalization has led mainstream parties to break electoral promises, move to the centre, use more ambiguous language, and so undermine the central mechanisms of electoral accountability. Not surprisingly, many voters are tempted by the simple and nationalist promises of populist politicians. The solution, they contend, is that mainstream parties adopt clearer policy positions on things they know they can deliver. Whether that will be enough to restore democracy and address inequalities caused by globalization is for future investigation.'

Simon Hix - Stein Rokkan Chair in Comparative Politics, European University Institute

‘The accomplished authors carefully build a persuasive argument that globalization has harmed the ability of traditional parties to honour manifesto promises, undermining voter trust and opening the field to upstart populist parties. A valuable source for anyone interested in the increasing polarization of modern politics.'

Michael Laver - New York University and London School of Economics

‘This book addresses a critical problem today: how can democratic governments deal with the constraints of globalization, given its benefits? Can these governments keep the promises their parties make to their publics? The findings are novel and disturbing. Democratic representation and accountability do not work well with globalization. To maintain public trust, democracies may need to move from the extant version of promissory accountability to a new model. The combination of broad democratic theory, strong quantitative evidence, and impressive qualitative research create a powerful narrative.'

Helen Milner - B. C. Forbes Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University

‘This book profoundly contributes to debates about political representation and democratic backsliding in a globalizing economy. Mainstream parties especially on the left struggle to keep their commitments when economies are integrated. Impressively, the study uses global data about party policies and conducts survey experiments in well-targeted case studies. A provocative implication suggests that closed economies contribute to better representation.'

Robert J. Rohrschneider - Sir Robert Worcester Distinguished Professor of Political Science, The University of Kansas

‘This outstanding book offers a compelling analysis of how economic globalization challenges the quality of democracy. Drawing on original data and sophisticated multi-method analysis, it shows that globalization increasingly constrains governing parties' ability to keep campaign promises, at significant political cost to these parties. By providing novel insights into promise keeping, the adaptation of parties to these globalization-induced challenges, and the problematic consequences of these developments, this book makes a timely and important contribution to the study of contemporary democracy.'

Stefanie Walter - Professor for International Relations and Political Economy, University of Zurich