Time magazine has termed 2024 the “Ultimate Election Year” https://time.com/6550920/world-elections-2024/ , as millions of people all over the world – some 49% of the global adult population, according to Time – will head to the polls to vote in national elections this year.

Perhaps the most consequential of these is the US presidential elections, scheduled for November 2024.

To better understand the pivotal, if little-understood, role of lobbyists, donors, and campaign finance in the byzantine world of policy-making and elections in the US, see IAST RF Sebastian Thieme’s two timely working papers: “(When) are Lobbying Expenditures a Good Proxy for Lobbying Activity?” and “Fundraising Events and Non-Ideological Donation Motivations.”

Sebastian's work (with co-author Sean Kates) shows how US electoral candidates successfully attract individual donors with the promise of access, influence, and social prestige. This research highlights the key role of exclusive political fundraising events in attracting individual donors, who, attracted by the promise of material and social benefits, may even donate to candidates with whom they disagree politically.

Through their detailed and systematic study, based on a novel dataset including campaign finance disclosures from four U.S. states across two decades, Sebastian and his co-authors shed new light on the role of money in American politics.

To read more about Sebastian’s work, visit his website here https://sebastian-thieme.com

Illustration: Photo de Element5 Digital sur Unsplash