Voting Advice Applications as a Popular Interactive Online Tool for Election Campaigns in Europe

The purpose of the article is to analyze general positive and negative characteristics of popular interactive online election campaign tools in Europe – voting advice applications (VAA). The research methodology is based on an interdisciplinary combination of a number of approaches integrated from various sciences, including political science, political management, political sociology, international law, etc. General scientific methods of research are used as well: analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization, etc. Conclusions. The main purpose of the VAA online tool is to inform about the most important political issues supported by different parties, and therefore to make the elections transparent and help the voter to find a candidate or a party with the closest beliefs and views. This enables a competent informed electoral choice. Different VAA have different ways of obtaining information, calculating and presenting the result. Still, the main functions in the applications are as follows: guidance on finding the party that best matches political preferences. This is measured by the degree of agreement with a list of statements about political offers presented in the programs of political actors.

Due to its unique methodology and large volume, the Applications are of great scholarly importance, particularly for researchers and practitioners interested in political parties, political behaviour and elections, making a significant contribution to the study of European party systems and the methodology of party positioning. Scientists also focus on how VAA influence the election behaviour, voting and results, as well on the issues of methodology and outcome measurement.