Modelling Surveys Effects in Political Competitions

Abstract In this paper the impact of news media and surveys on electoral campaigns for political competitions is studied by means of an agent-based model, showing the dynamics of voters’ opinions before elections. A small community of people, connected among them as a realistic social network, is exposed to the effects of periodic surveys, in order to analyze how the electoral consensus varies time, in several scenarios of a two-parties configuration. Results of performed simulations provide support to the idea that surveys and news may play a relevant role in driving political orientation.

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