Obama's Online Success and European Party Organizations: Adoption and Adaptation of U.S. Online Practices in the Norwegian Labor Party

The article addresses the influence of U.S. online campaign practices on West-European party organizations. The empirical case is the Norwegian Labor Party: To what extent did Labor adopt the online practices of the Obama campaign, and in what sense was the online strategy adapted to fit existing campaign and organizational structures? Based on the diffusion of technology and a hybridization perspective on campaign change, it is suggested that the literature on political parties and the network party model in particular is helpful to understand this process. The findings show that the Norwegian Labor Party was highly influenced by Obama's online campaign and U.S. online practices. However, the practices were adjusted to an existing campaign style and organizational structure. Moreover, an essential part of the online strategy was a thematic network structure that aimed to lower the threshold for participation and thereby engage and activate party members, as well as recruit new members. Hence, U.S. campaign practices diffuse to Norwegian electoral politics, and the adopted U.S. practices are implemented based on the ideals of the network party.