Digital Politics in Western Democracies

A Comparative Study
Erscheinungsjahr 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4214-1118-7
Verlag: Johns Hopkins University Press

Buch, Englisch, 304 Seiten, Format (B × H): 149 mm x 226 mm, Gewicht: 427 g

A comparative analysis of political websites and their users from seven Western democracies.

Digital politics is shorthand for how internet technologies have fueled the complex interactions between political actors and their constituents. Cristian Vaccari analyzes the presentation and consumption of online politics in seven advanced Western democracies—Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States—from 2006 to 2010. His study not only refutes claims that the web creates homogenized American-style politics and political interaction but also empirically reveals how a nation’s unique constraints and opportunities create digital responses.

Digital Politics in Western Democracies is the first large-scale comparative treatment of both the supply and the demand sides of digital politics among different countries and national political actors. It is divided into four parts: theoretical challenges and research methodology; how parties and candidates structure their websites (supply); how citizens use the websites to access campaign information (demand); and how the research results tie back to inequalities, engagement, and competition in digital politics. Because a key aspect of any political system is how its actors and citizens communicate, this book will be invaluable for scholars, students, and practitioners interested in political communication, party competition, party organization, and the study of the contemporary media landscape writ large.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Vaccari, Cristian

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaften Kommunikationswissenschaften Kommunikation & Medien in der Politik
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Systeme Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Kultur Politische Propaganda & Kampagnen, Politik & Medien

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
Part I: Theoretical Issues and Research Questions
2. Understanding Digital Politics in Western Democracies
3. Parties and the Internet
4. Citizens and the Internet
Part II: Parties and Digital Politics
5. Structure and Features of Political Websites
6. Disparities in Political Websites
7. Party Characteristics and Their Online Presence
8. What Drives the Online Presence of Parties and Candidates?
Part III: Citizens and Digital Politics
9. Online Political Information in Seven Countries
10. Socioeconomic Inequalities and Online Political Information
11. Political Attitudes and Online Information
12. Political Engagement, Mass Media Use, andOnline Information
13. Correlates of Online Political Information inSeven Democracies
14. Conclusion
Appendix
Notes
References
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Vaccari, Cristian
Cristian Vaccari is an assistant professor of political science at the University of Bologna and a lecturer at Royal Holloway University of London.