Author Petros Iosifidis: Petros Iosifidis is Professor in Media and Communication Policy in the Department of Sociology, City University London, UK. He is the author of Public Television in the Digital Era (2007), Global Media and Communication Policy (2011), co-author of The Political Economy of Television Sports Rights (2013) and editor of Reinventing Public Service Communication (2010).

• Introduction.- Part One.Theory and Practice.- 1.Social Media, Public Sphere and Democracy.- 2.The Political Economy of Social Media.- 3.Western Media Policy Frameworks and Values.- Part Two.Western Liberal Democratic Traditions, Grassroots Politics and the Social Media.- 4.Modern Political Communication and Web 2.0 in Representative Democracies: the United States and the British Experience.- 5.The Public Sphere and Network Democracy: the Arab Spring, WikiLeaks and the Edward Snowden Revelations.- 6.Public Diplomacy 2.0 and the Social Media.- Part Three.The rise of the BRICS and on-line interest.- 7.Russia and China: Autocratic and On-line.- 8.India and South Africa; Post-colonial Power, Democratization and theOnline Community.- 9.Japan, South Korea, Brazil: Post-industrial Societies; Hard and Software.- 10.The Social Media and the Middle East.- 11.Conclusion

Author Petros Iosifidis: Petros Iosifidis is Professor in Media and Communication Policy in the Department of Sociology, City University London, UK. He is the author of Public Television in the Digital Era (2007), Global Media and Communication Policy (2011), co-author of The Political Economy of Television Sports Rights (2013) and editor of Reinventing Public Service Communication (2010).

• Introduction.- Part One.Theory and Practice.- 1.Social Media, Public Sphere and Democracy.- 2.The Political Economy of Social Media.- 3.Western Media Policy Frameworks and Values.- Part Two.Western Liberal Democratic Traditions, Grassroots Politics and the Social Media.- 4.Modern Political Communication and Web 2.0 in Representative Democracies: the United States and the British Experience.- 5.The Public Sphere and Network Democracy: the Arab Spring, WikiLeaks and the Edward Snowden Revelations.- 6.Public Diplomacy 2.0 and the Social Media.- Part Three.The rise of the BRICS and on-line interest.- 7.Russia and China: Autocratic and On-line.- 8.India and South Africa; Post-colonial Power, Democratization and theOnline Community.- 9.Japan, South Korea, Brazil: Post-industrial Societies; Hard and Software.- 10.The Social Media and the Middle East.- 11.Conclusion

Author Petros Iosifidis: Petros Iosifidis is Professor in Media and Communication Policy in the Department of Sociology, City University London, UK. He is the author of Public Television in the Digital Era (2007), Global Media and Communication Policy (2011), co-author of The Political Economy of Television Sports Rights (2013) and editor of Reinventing Public Service Communication (2010).

• Introduction.- Part One.Theory and Practice.- 1.Social Media, Public Sphere and Democracy.- 2.The Political Economy of Social Media.- 3.Western Media Policy Frameworks and Values.- Part Two.Western Liberal Democratic Traditions, Grassroots Politics and the Social Media.- 4.Modern Political Communication and Web 2.0 in Representative Democracies: the United States and the British Experience.- 5.The Public Sphere and Network Democracy: the Arab Spring, WikiLeaks and the Edward Snowden Revelations.- 6.Public Diplomacy 2.0 and the Social Media.- Part Three.The rise of the BRICS and on-line interest.- 7.Russia and China: Autocratic and On-line.- 8.India and South Africa; Post-colonial Power, Democratization and theOnline Community.- 9.Japan, South Korea, Brazil: Post-industrial Societies; Hard and Software.- 10.The Social Media and the Middle East.- 11.Conclusion