scholarly journals The Digitalization of Russian Politics and Political Participation

Author(s):  
Mariëlle Wijermars

AbstractThe chapter discusses the impact of digitalization and the rise of online and social media on Russian politics and political participation. It departs from the question whether the introduction of digital technologies has resulted in the transformation of Russian politics in ways that go beyond the mere replication of political practices in digital form. Placing its analysis in the context of Open Government thinking, the chapter examines four areas: first, it discusses changes in political communication; second, it examines the impact of online communications on political campaigning; third, the chapter reflects on changes in the voting process; and, finally, it critically examines digital tools for political participation (so-called civic technologies) and civic engagement.

Author(s):  
EVA MOEHLECKE DE BASEGGIO ◽  
OLIVIA SCHNEIDER ◽  
TIBOR SZVIRCSEV TRESCH

The Swiss Armed Forces (SAF), as part of a democratic system, depends on legitimacy. Democracy, legitimacy and the public are closely connected. In the public sphere the SAF need to be visible; it is where they are controlled and legitimated by the citizens, as part of a deliberative discussion in which political decisions are communicatively negotiated. Considering this, the meaning of political communication, including the SAF’s communication, becomes obvious as it forms the most important basis for political legitimation processes. Social media provide a new way for the SAF to communicate and interact directly with the population. The SAF’s social media communication potentially brings it closer to the people and engages them in a dialogue. The SAF can become more transparent and social media communication may increase its reputation and legitimacy. To measure the effects of social media communication, a survey of the Swiss internet population was conducted. Based on this data, a structural equation model was defined, the effects of which substantiate the assumption that the SAF benefits from being on social media in terms of broadening its reach and increasing legitimacy values.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-87
Author(s):  
Nina Gorenc

The research behind this paper is set in the context of the 2016 US presidential election that has come to symbolize the post-truth era. We conducted a literature review on the 2016 election, with the aim to better understand the impact of computational propaganda on the election outcome and on the behaviour of voters. The paper opens with a definition of post-truth society and related concepts such as fake news and computational propaganda. It explores the changes of political communication in a digital environment and analyses the role of social media in the 2016 election. It probes into phenomena such as the trivialization of politics and the loss of credibility of political actors, which are both common in post-truth societies. The reviewed literature seems to indicate that social media have become strong actors on the political stage, but so far not the predominant source of political information and influence on the behaviour of voters. The paper makes two important contributions. Firstly, drawing on the concept of post-truth society, it analyses the role of computational propaganda in the 2016 presidential election, and secondly, it attempts to explain the paradox of general political apathy on one hand, and increased political activism on the other. These are some of the challenges we are now facing, and in order to be able to cope with them it is important to acknowledge and understand them.


Author(s):  
Collen Sabao ◽  
Tendai Owen Chikara

The chapter examines and discusses the role and communicative potential of social media based platforms in citizen political participation and protests in Zimbabwe specifically focusing on the #thisflag movement on Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp. #thisflag is a social media-based platform that rose to challenge the Zimbabwean government over the political and economic decay as well as rampant corruption characterising the country contemporarily. While a new phenomenon to Zimbabwe and Zimbabwean politics, the impact and communicative potential of social media as an alternative public sphere was recently tested in nationwide protest stayaway organised through the Facebook and Twitter movement under the #thisflag handle/brand. This chapter discusses the manners in which such social media platforms impact national politics in Zimbabwe as well as globally, specifically looking at the #thisflag movement as a case study.


Author(s):  
Helin Alagöz Gessler

This chapter analyses the effects of social media on political communication and the role they play in government-citizen relations by focusing on the Twitter ban phenomenon in Turkey in March 2014. The chapter asks the reasons of government intervention in social media, particularly Twitter. It argues that Twitter makes, on the one hand, a significant contribution to the evolution of political participation as it diversifies the process and methods of political communication. On the other hand, it introduces a new type of security dilemma which encourages governments to consider taking measures against social media to protect their authority.


2020 ◽  
pp. 772-786
Author(s):  
Collen Sabao ◽  
Tendai Owen Chikara

The chapter examines and discusses the role and communicative potential of social media based platforms in citizen political participation and protests in Zimbabwe specifically focusing on the #thisflag movement on Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp. #thisflag is a social media-based platform that rose to challenge the Zimbabwean government over the political and economic decay as well as rampant corruption characterising the country contemporarily. While a new phenomenon to Zimbabwe and Zimbabwean politics, the impact and communicative potential of social media as an alternative public sphere was recently tested in nationwide protest stayaway organised through the Facebook and Twitter movement under the #thisflag handle/brand. This chapter discusses the manners in which such social media platforms impact national politics in Zimbabwe as well as globally, specifically looking at the #thisflag movement as a case study.


Author(s):  
Rui Costa ◽  
Gorete Dinis ◽  
Raquel Seabra

Tourism is a phenomenon of contemporary society, being one of the economic sectors where information has an essential function and where the impact of social media had more evidence. Digital technologies are increasingly present in life and have radically changed the way people think, make decisions and interact. Consumers are more demanding and informed, supporting their buying decisions in the online world. These changes also have implications in the tourism sector and in the promotion of tourist destinations. Given this new paradigm, the local accommodation units, as the most recent accommodation modality, have registered a remarkable growth and due to the characteristics of the activity itself, have to accompany and adapt to this new reality. The present work intends to analyze how Local Accommodation units in Aveiro use the Internet, and in particular the applications of social media in their communication strategies, as well as the importance they give to this reality of the digital world.


Author(s):  
Roman Pyrma

The study contributes to defining the impact of digital communication on civic and political participation, explaining how social media mediate public activism. Based on the concept of the ‘digital citizenship’ the paper reveals the political aspect of the public activism of Russian youth online. The empirical model is based on a combination of methods and procedures of applied research in order to reveal the details of civil and political participation, and protest activism of youth online. The research model includes analysis of social media and a large-scale online survey of the younger audience. Based on the analysis of social media information flows, the paper states the prevalence of the youth’s civic participation over political participation, as well as the fact that the dynamics of social activity depend on the events and the current agenda. The authors describe the level of civic and political activity of youth online based on sociological data. They also divide the audience of the protest theatre according to the following models: leaders, activists, followers, and spectators. In general, the study reveals the status and details of the younger generation’s communication activity online, where communities establish and implications of linking actions appear.


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