The World Was Watching—And Talking

Abstract

The 2004 U.S. presidential election was called one of the most important in history. The world’s only remaining superpower’s election captured international attention as never before. This article examines how international observers discussed the election via reactions to the debates by using DebateWatch transcripts and surveys. The study finds media framing in a person’s home country as well as a greater sense of globalization contributed to participants’ perspectives. Although participants were influenced by cultural and political issues in their home countries, they were also influenced by what they observed in the debates, and they demonstrated greater understanding of the U.S. electoral process, the candidates, and the issues.