Cecilia Biancalana - Böcker

Democracy and data have a complicated relationship. Under the influence of big data and artificial intelligence, some democracies are being transformed, for better or worse, as relations between citizens, political parties, governments, and corporations are being redrawn. Artificial Democracy explores the ways in which data collection and analytics, and their application, are changing political practices, government policies, and even democratic polities themselves. With an international roster of multidisciplinary contributors, this highly topical collection takes a comprehensive approach to big data's effect on democracy, from the use of micro-targeting in electoral campaigns to the clash between privacy and surveillance in the name of protecting society.Artificial Democracy tackles both the dangers and the potentially desirable changes made possible by the symbiosis of big data and artificial intelligence. It explores shifts in how we conceptualize the citizen–government relationship and asks important questions about where we could be heading.

Democracy and data have a complicated relationship. Under the influence of big data and artificial intelligence, some democracies are being transformed, for better or worse, as relations between citizens, political parties, governments, and corporations are being redrawn. Artificial Democracy explores the ways in which data collection and analytics, and their application, are changing political practices, government policies, and even democratic polities themselves. With an international roster of multidisciplinary contributors, this highly topical collection takes a comprehensive approach to big data's effect on democracy, from the use of micro-targeting in electoral campaigns to the clash between privacy and surveillance in the name of protecting society.Artificial Democracy tackles both the dangers and the potentially desirable changes made possible by the symbiosis of big data and artificial intelligence. It explores shifts in how we conceptualize the citizen–government relationship and asks important questions about where we could be heading.

Despite the recent wealth of literature on national populism, research has often overlooked one crucial aspect: the border. This innovative book bridges these key concepts, providing a new theoretical conceptualisation of the interplay between populism, nationalism and territorial borders.In this book, borders are not considered as mere institutional boundaries between nation states; on the contrary, the authors adopt a multi-dimensional view of borders as narratives, issues and territorial spaces of mobilisation. Reconsidering the contemporary politicisation of borders in Western Europe, the authors investigate how national populism deals with territorial borders and the various meanings they embody. Empirical case studies focusing on the Swiss borderlands explore parties’ programmes and discourses, representatives’ attitudes, as well as public opinion and voting behaviour, offering key insights into how political actors and citizens react to trends such as growing transnational flows, globalisation and European integration. This timely book, based on original party sources and surveys, will be an essential resource for students and scholars of political science, political sociology, border studies, European integration, Euroscepticism and Swiss politics. Its context-oriented analysis will also prove beneficial to practitioners and representatives involved in cross-border cooperation.

Our society is becoming inextricably intertwined with digital platforms. Mapping the Evolution of Platform Society brings together a team of multidisciplinary scholars to investigate the intricate web of challenges and opportunities posed by the digital landscape.The chapters provide novel research on the impact of platforms on education, media, politics and social disadvantage. Delivering a necessary update to seminal work with new empirical evidence and evolving key challenges – such as the role of TikTok – the authors do not merely identify risks of the ‘platformization’ of society, they offer a vital exploration of potential solutions and best practices. Opening with an introduction by the editors, it then covers five sections exploring education and lifelong learning, discrimination and marginalized communities, media and news dissemination, the digital transformation of government, and the environmental challenges of the platform society. Encompassing case studies and analyses from countries and regions often overlooked in existing literature, this collection offers a global perspective on the evolution of the opportunities and inherent challenges posed by the platform society.Emerging from genuine interdisciplinarity, deriving from rigorous research across education, social work, journalism, government, and environmental studies, this is rich reading for scholars from across the political and social sciences interested in the risks and opportunities of this evolving societal trend.