Project description

The Manifesto Project provides the scientific community with parties’ policy positions derived from a content analysis of parties’ electoral manifestos. It covers over 1000 parties from 1945 until today in over 50 countries on five continents. The DFG-funded MARPOR project continues the work of the Manifesto Research Group (MRG) and the Comparative Manifestos Project (CMP). On this website you find the Manifesto Project Dataset containing the parties' policy preferences generated by the project. You also find coded and uncoded election manifestos of the parties in the dataset as well as information and links to many applications for the dataset, related projects and publications etc.

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News

(2022-09-26) New Dataset Version 2022a

  • Dataset version 2022a is now available on the data > download page. We added 7 new elections and corrected some errors. You can find all changes in the release notes. This update comes along with a new version of the Manifesto Corpus that contains more then 70 digitalized older codings for Romania, Russia and Ukraine. Additionally, there is a small update of existing data points for the South America Dataset.

(2021-10-21) New Dataset Version 2021a

  • Dataset version 2021a is now available on the data > download page. We added 12 new elections and corrected some errors. You can find all changes in the release notes. This update comes along with a new version of the Manifesto Corpus.

(2020-12-23) New Dataset Version 2020b

  • Dataset version 2020b is now available on the data > download page. We added 10 new elections and corrected some errors. You can find all changes in the release notes and the release notes for the South America Dataset. This update comes along with a new version of the Manifesto Corpus that also includes 25 retro-digitalized coded documents from the past. Additionally, it also makes about 50 previously missing original pdfs and about 90 coded pdfs available on our website.

(2020-07-27) New Dataset Version 2020a

  • Dataset version 2020a is now available on the data > download page. We added 9.5 new elections (the .5 being the Flemish manifestos for Belgium 2019) and corrected some errors. You can find all changes in the release notes. This update comes along with a new version of the Manifesto Corpus that also includes 38 retro-digitalized coded documents from the past. Additionally, it also makes about 250 previously missing original pdfs of manifestos available on our website.

(2020-04-16) Government Declaration Dataset from MPPI online

  • The Government Declaration Dataset originally published with MPPI is now also available on our website. Check it out here. It contains content analytical data from government declarations in 11 countries between 1945 and the 1980s.

(2019-12-19) Job Offer Research Fellow

  • We have a job offer for a new research fellow position starting in March 2020. You find the call here: https://www.wzb.eu/en/jobs/research-fellow-fmx (english PDF, german PDF). The application deadline is 27.01.2020. If you have always been wondering why a specific election is not coded quicker, if you always had great idea how to improve the data set or if you just like it, come and work with a great team in Berlin.

(2019-12-17) New Dataset Version 2019b

  • Dataset version 2019b is now available. We added new observations, and corrected some errors. You can find all changes in the release notes. We also updated the South America Dataset to version 2019b - consult its release notes for all additions and changes. You can find both data sets and their release notes on the data > download page. This update comes along with a new version of the Manifesto Corpus.

(2019-10-08) Jirka Lewandowski (1989-2019)

  • Obituary of Jirka Lewandowski – Bidding farewell to a bright and warm-hearted colleague and friend: read the obituary

(2019-08-27) New Dataset Version 2019a

  • Dataset version 2019a is now available. We added new observations, changed the handling of the pervote/absseat variables for electoral alliances and their member parties, and corrected some errors. You can find all changes in the release notes. We also updated the South America Dataset to version 2019a - consult its release notes for all additions and changes. You can find both data sets and their release notes on the data > download page. This update comes along with a new version of the Manifesto Corpus.

(2019-06-01) Party Facts: Article published, various new datasets added (e.g. CSES, IPOD)

  • Party Facts ("A Database of Political Parties Worldwide") links datasets on political parties and provides an online platform about parties and their history as recorded in social science datasets.
  • MARPOR-Fellow Sven Regel and Holger Döring (@ParlGov) got their article published that describes the Party Facts project and its merits: Döring, Holger, and Sven Regel. 2019. “Party Facts: A Database of Political Parties Worldwide.” Party Politics 25(2): 97–109. doi:10.1177/1354068818820671
  • Meanwhile ten new datasets have been integrated (especially through the hard work of Paul Bederke) into Party Facts (additional to the 26 datasets (incl. Manifesto Project) already mentioned in the article). Among others these are the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES) and the Integrated Party Organization Dataset (IPOD).

(2019-04-24) Job announcement

  • We are hiring up to three student assistants in Berlin. You find the call here: german (PDF) or english (PDF). Deadline is the 22nd of May.

(2018-12-21) New Dataset Version 2018b

  • Dataset version 2018b is now available. We added new observations and corrected some errors. You can find all changes in the release notes. We also updated the South America Dataset to version 2018b - consult its release notes for all additions and changes. You can find both data sets and their release notes on the data > download page. This update comes along with a new version of the Manifesto Corpus.

(2018-10-10) Call for Papers: Manifesto Project User Conference (7-8 March 2019)

  • The Manifesto Project team invites users of the Manifesto Dataset to submit abstracts and papers for a conference on 7-8 March 2019 at the WZB Berlin Social Science Center in Berlin, Germany. The aim of the conference is to bring together scholars using the Manifesto Dataset and/or the Manifesto Corpus and to foster a dialogue between users and the core team. The conference offers participants the opportunity to present current projects using Manifesto Project data.
  • The deadline for the submission of abstracts is 18 November 2018.
  • Please find more information in the call for papers on the Manifesto Project User Conference 2019 website and/or in the Call-PDF.

(2018-09-05) Job offer PhD student

  • We have a job offer for a new PhD student starting in November 2018. You find the call here: https://www.wzb.eu/en/jobs/research-assistant (english PDF, german PDF). The application deadline is 30.09.2018. If you have always been wondering why a specific election is not coded quicker, if you always had great idea how to improve the data set or if you just like it, come and work with a great team in Berlin.

(2018-07-19) New Dataset Version 2018a

  • Dataset version 2018a is now available. We added new observations and corrected some errors. You can find all changes in the release notes. We also updated the South America Dataset to version 2018a - consult the release notes for all additions and changes. You can find both data sets and their release notes on the data > download page. This update comes along with a new version of the Manifesto Corpus which also contains about 50 new digitalized handwritten codings from the past.

(2018-04-25) Tutorial series

  • We start to release a number of tutorials on how to use the Manifesto Project Dataset and the Manifesto Corpus. You can find all tutorials by clicking on the "Tutorials" item in the navigation bar above.

(2018-02-23) Corpus Conference Wrap-up: Best Paper Award Winners

  • For the first time, we awarded a best paper award at one of our conferences: the Manifesto Corpus Conference Best Paper Award worth 1,000 EUR. The prize was split and awarded to Jae-Hee Jung (Washington University, St. Louis) for "The Mobilizing Effect of Parties' Moral Rhetoric" and Stefan Müller (Trinity College Dublin) for "Prospective and Retrospective Salience".

(2018-01-26) Server problems solved - website up and running.

  • We were having major problems with our server during the last two weeks. As you can see, these are solved now. If you are still facing problems, do not hesitate to contact us via manifesto-communication@wzb.eu. Sorry for the inconvenience.

(2017-12-18) New Dataset Version 2017b

  • Dataset version 2017b is now available. We added new observations and corrected some errors. You can find all changes in the release notes. We also updated the South America Dataset to version 2017b - consult the release notes for all additions and changes. You can find both data sets and their release notes on the data > download page. This update comes along with a new version of the Manifesto Corpus.

(2017-11-24) Manifesto Corpus Conference Program Online

  • We are happy to announce that we have finalized the program for our 2018 Manifesto Corpus Conference.
  • Please find the program and further information (also regarding free registration for non-presenters) on the Manifesto Corpus Conference website.

(2017-09-04) Call for Papers: Manifesto Corpus Conference (1-2 February 2018)

  • The Manifesto Project Team is organizing a conference on the Manifesto Corpus seeking submissions making use or applying the Manifesto Corpus.
  • The deadline for the submission of abstracts is 2 October 2017.
  • The best work presented at the conference will receive the Manifesto Corpus Award (dotted with 1,000€).
  • Please find more information in the call for papers on the Manifesto Corpus Conference website.

(2017-08-18) New Dataset Version 2017a, DOIs, dataset version comparison dashboard, and change in MARPOR directorship

  • Dataset version 2017a is now available. We added new observations and corrected some errors. You can find all changes in the release notes. We also updated the South America Dataset to version 2017a - consult the release notes for all additions and changes. You can find both data sets on the data > download page.
  • All versions of the Manifesto Project Dataset are now acecssible permanently via digital object identifiers (DOI). The doi link to the current version of the main dataset: https://doi.org/10.25522/manifesto.mpds.2017a. Doi-links are also available for older versions of the dataset on our website. When using the new dataset, please also update the entry in your literature managment software by using the respective files on our website which also include the doi. Including the doi in the citation ensures that people can find the data and enhances the transparency of your research.
  • We finished a new dashboard that indicates changes between different versions of the main dataset. The dashboard will not replace the release notes of the dataset, but complement them. The dashboard allows to identify the exact changes between two versions of the dataset. It illustrates additions, removals and changes in the data. We always recommend to use the most recent version of the dataset. However, sometimes scholars start doing an analysis with one version of the dataset that becomes outdated while working on their research project. The dashboard facilitates to identify whether the more recent version of the dataset contains substantial changes compared to the older version and should encourage users to use more recent data even for on-going projects. The dashboard is still in a beta state. You can find it here: https://visuals.manifesto-project.wzb.eu/mpdb-shiny/cmp_dashboard_dataset_version/
  • Andrea Volkens handed over the directorship of MARPOR to Bernhard Weßels. She continues to work for MARPOR.

(2016-12-21) New Dataset Version 2016b

(2016-11-18) manifestata - our new stata add-on for the Manifesto Project Data and Corpus

  • We are happy to announce the release of manifestata - our stata add-on to access and process the Manifesto Project Dataset and the Manifesto Corpus. manifestata is for Stata what manifestoR is for R. manifestata is the result of a cooperation with Alejandro Ecker from MZES, Mannheim.

(2016-07-22) Society for Political Methodology's 2016 Statistical Software Award

  • We are happy to announce that Jirka, Sven, Pola and Nicolas won the Statistical Software Award 2016 of the Society for Political Methodology for manifestoR and the manifesto API. The Society for Political Methodology is the Methodological Section of the American Political Science Association.

(2016-06-09) Berlin Digital Humanities Prize 2016

(2016-05-26) New Dataset Version 2016a

  • Dataset version 2016a is now available. We added many new observations, corrected some errors and even added some new variables. Check out all changes in the release notes.

(2016-02-05) Article published on the Manifesto Corpus

(2016-03-22) New Version of R package manifestoR and Manifesto Corpus released

  • Since today, a new version (1.2) of our R package manifestoR is downloadable from CRAN. It adds accessibility to the Manifesto Project's South America Dataset and several other features, which are documented in the ChangeLog. Also, the Manifesto Corpus Version 2016-2 was released in parallel, containing the coded manifestos for all our South America Observations. For full and easy access to these documents, manifestoR version 1.2 is required!

(2015-12-10) Successful extension of MARPOR funding (2016-2019)

  • We received the confirmation that the funding of MARPOR by the German Research Association (DFG) will be extended by three more years from 2016 to 2019.

(2015-11-19) Release of next update

  • We currently do not plan to release an updated version of the dataset within this year. Only little data is currently ready and it is not worth to create a new version of the dataset. We will code some more data and bundle for an update in the first half of 2016. This update will then also include data for the UK General elections of 2015.

(2015-10-02) Job announcement

  • We are hiring up to three student assistants in Berlin. See the job announcement on the WZB website (in german or english). Deadline is the 12th of October.

(2015-09-11) We are now on twitter.

  • @manifesto_proj announces new versions and corrections of the dataset and keeps you up to date on research using manifesto data.

(2015-09-11) Small updates to the website

  • We slightly restructured the website and added some new content. We will continue to improve the website in the future. Let us know if you have problems or comments.

(2015-09-10) What happened during the last months...

  • Coded manifestos available through the Manifesto Corpus: The Corpus publishes the digital codings on the quasi-sentence level the project has produced since 2009. It allows users to verify and check our codings, recode the data for their own purposes, create new subcategories, use them for automatic analysis, etc.

  • Release of manifestoR: an R packages facilitating use and access of the Manifesto Project Data.

  • Update 2015a available: It is the first dataset that reports data coded on the basis of the new category scheme. Check Version 5 of the coding instructions to learn more about the new category scheme. For everyone doing over time comparisons the dataset also reports the data aggregated into the old category scheme.

  • First data from South American countries published: This new dataset will provide data on South American parties and presidential candidates. So far it contains data from Argentina, Brazil and Chile, more countries and elections will follow.

Tweets (@manifesto_proj)

 2585


  2022-07-07   12    2

From manifestos to coalition agreements: Our team members Sven Regel, @BernhardWessels and Pola Lehmann and former team member @TheresMatthiess have analysed to what extent the election pledges of the “Ampelkoalition” made it into government programme https://twitter.com/BernhardWessels/status/1544342913978859520

  2022-05-02   3    0

The #SSW party, which surprisingly entered the german parliament in the 2021 election, has been missing in our #ManifestoMonday series about the german manifestos. Our great student assistants Juliane Hanel, Sarah Hegazy, Leonie Schwichtenberg & Leila van Rinsum have fixed that! https://twitter.com/WZB_Democracy/status/1521123392635736071

  2022-05-02   9    0

Our website is back online and all services should work properly again (data access, dashboards, API). If you still encounter any problems please let us know! Thanks a lot for your patience during the last week.

  2022-04-19   19    4

Our manifesto server is currently down due to technical problems. This affects the manifesto website as well as other manifesto services (API,dashboards). We are sorry for the inconvenience and will let you know as soon as the server is back up.

  2022-04-01   5    0

New publication from @manifesto_proj team members! Our research fellows @tionde_lisa and Pola Lehmann have analyzed the strategic behavior of the german populist radical right party AfD during the Covid-19 pandemic. Check out @tionde_lisa thread and the open-access article 👇👇 https://twitter.com/tionde_lisa/status/1509796122805555202

  2022-03-09   5    2

Hey #TextAsData people: @OPTED_H2020 is currently running a survey about the challenges of text as data research. Great opportunity to share your experiences and contribute to the development of a European research infrastructure for political text analysis. https://twitter.com/OPTED_H2020/status/1499320641912287234

  2021-09-20   5    1

T-6 until election day in 🇩🇪 ! As the grand finale of our #ManifestoMonday series we wrote an overview article for @zeitonline and analyzed which coalition would have the best substantial fit according to their manifestos. https://twitter.com/zeitonline/status/1439623136908034052

  2021-09-13   8    3

We continue the #ManifestoMonday series! Juliane Hanel, Leonie Schwichtenberg & Marvin Müller have developed an interactive dashboard based on the Manifesto data, where you can easily compare the different priorities and goals of the German parties. Give it a try! https://twitter.com/WZB_Democracy/status/1437402988432211971

  2021-09-08   5    0

Our team member Pola Lehman has analyzed the different positions of the German parties on the transition to sustainable transport for @ZDFwiso . https://twitter.com/WZB_Democracy/status/1435589352978063363

  2021-09-06   2    0

Our sixth and final article on an individual German election program in the #ManifestoMonday series. Sarah Hegazy and Pola Lehmann discuss the manifesto of the Left Party. https://twitter.com/WZB_Democracy/status/1434877250713923586

  2021-08-30   5    2

Here comes the fifth part of our #ManifestoMonday series about the German election programs! Juliane Hanel and Christoph Ivanusch take a closer look at the key topics of the Green manifesto. https://twitter.com/WZB_Democracy/status/1432317274577375232

  2021-08-24   6    3

Some former and current members of the Manifesto Team have analyzed the German election manifestos for @ZDFwiso. The start was made by @TheresMatthiess, who inspected the parties' positions on educational equality. https://twitter.com/WZB_Democracy/status/1430086839575138324

  2021-08-23   5    1

The fourth blog post in our #ManifestoMonday series is now available! Marvin Müller and @TobiasBurst discuss the CDU/CSU manifesto for the German federal elections 2021 https://twitter.com/WZB_Democracy/status/1429782910865977348

  2021-08-16   1    0

Our third entry in the #ManifestoMonday series about the German election programs is online now! Juliane Hanel & Pola Lehmann write about their key findings from their analysis of the FDP manifesto https://twitter.com/WZB_Democracy/status/1427273769152831506

  2021-08-10   1    0

Don't miss our second blog post about the German election programs! Sven Regel and Leila van Rinsum discuss the key topics of the SPD manifesto. https://twitter.com/WZB_Democracy/status/1425028998279667712

  2021-08-02   18    2

Introducing #ManifestoMonday! Over the next few weeks leading up to the German federal elections, we will analyze the party manifestos and report on their central topics and talking points (written in German). @tionde_lisa and Leonie Schwichtenberg start today with the AfD!

  2021-01-14   17    6

New versions of our datasets are available (Update 2020b)!

We added the following elections:

ARG: 2015 & 2019 AUT: 2019 DNK: 2019 HUN: 2018 ISR: 2019 April MNE: 2020 PRT: 2019 ESP: 2019 November UKR: 2014

https://manifesto-project.wzb.eu/datasets

Citation

If you use any of the data you find on this website, please cite us. You find the correct citation for all datasets on all download pages. If you use the documents, please cite the Manifesto Corpus.