Karolina Koc-Michalska – författare

Studies of election campaigns have shown an increased employment of websites, weblog tools, email, and social media by political campaigners, as well as the use of similar platforms by citizens to find information, communicate about elections or engage more generally in political issues. This comprehensive volume explores the ways in which social media is used on the one hand as a campaigning tool, and on the other, by local citizens. It aims to develop a more holistic and Eurocentric research agenda by capturing both supply and demand practices at the European level. The authors employ both single and multination case studies, furthering debates on how political actors and voters embrace the new information and communication environment, in what ways, and for what purposes. The book offers new perspectives on social media campaigning within European democracies, thereby contributing to a more global and comprehensive understanding of how campaigning is affected, and might be enhanced, by developing an interactive digital strategy.This book will be of great interest to students of both politics and media studies. It was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Information Technology & Politics.

This book discusses the implications of recent innovations in information and communication technology for civic and political engagement. The international mix of contributions offers insights across a broad spectrum of studies into the form of engagement: explaining the reasons, incentives and motivations for engaging, and the different forms and levels of engagement; contrasting traditional and non-traditional forms of engagement and how they interlink; and asking why people utilize or avoid certain forms of engagement.It is a must-read for any scholar interested in the impact of social media on citizens’ propensity to get involved in political actions. It depicts the role that parties, organizations and peers play in mobilizing or demobilizing others and how online behaviour can act as a springboard into what might be called real-world politics. The book gathers together prominent scholars, who offer their understanding of social and political phenomena and give theoretical and empirical insights into the highly complex questions around political participation in the digital age. ​This book was originally published as a special issue of Political Communication.

Studies of election campaigns have shown an increased employment of websites, weblog tools, email, and social media by political campaigners, as well as the use of similar platforms by citizens to find information, communicate about elections or engage more generally in political issues. This comprehensive volume explores the ways in which social media is used on the one hand as a campaigning tool, and on the other, by local citizens. It aims to develop a more holistic and Eurocentric research agenda by capturing both supply and demand practices at the European level. The authors employ both single and multination case studies, furthering debates on how political actors and voters embrace the new information and communication environment, in what ways, and for what purposes. The book offers new perspectives on social media campaigning within European democracies, thereby contributing to a more global and comprehensive understanding of how campaigning is affected, and might be enhanced, by developing an interactive digital strategy.This book will be of great interest to students of both politics and media studies. It was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Information Technology & Politics.

Women’s existence in the digital world has been closely studied by scholars and attracted the attention of activists worldwide. Women, like men, early on saw the Internet as a potentially powerful and liberating tool that would help them find groups or communities with similar aims and interests. Today there is more awareness of the deleterious effects of unconstrained online speech such as online violence, ridicule, silencing, and threats against women.Women in the Digital World brings together the latest academic research on women online and includes chapters on political speech, gendered online violence, dealing with sexual assaults, marginalization of women politicians, and how women participate (or don’t) via online environments.The interdisciplinary research in this volume brings together communications studies, gender studies, sociology, politics, and computer science and is essential reading for those seeking to understand a growing field. The book should be of interest also for activists and NGOs who seek to deepen their knowledge on the place of females online. It was originally published as a special issue of the journal Information, Communication & Society.

Women’s existence in the digital world has been closely studied by scholars and attracted the attention of activists worldwide. Women, like men, early on saw the Internet as a potentially powerful and liberating tool that would help them find groups or communities with similar aims and interests. Today there is more awareness of the deleterious effects of unconstrained online speech such as online violence, ridicule, silencing, and threats against women.Women in the Digital World brings together the latest academic research on women online and includes chapters on political speech, gendered online violence, dealing with sexual assaults, marginalization of women politicians, and how women participate (or don’t) via online environments.The interdisciplinary research in this volume brings together communications studies, gender studies, sociology, politics, and computer science and is essential reading for those seeking to understand a growing field. The book should be of interest also for activists and NGOs who seek to deepen their knowledge on the place of females online. It was originally published as a special issue of the journal Information, Communication & Society.

This book covers various aspects of political communication in dissonant public spheres and their impact on democratic processes. It expands research on campaigning beyond assumptions of well-functioning political systems, to better understand how the erosion of institutional legitimacy and trust affects communication processes.The volume approaches the concept of dissonant public spheres from four divergent perspectives: as instrumental threats to democracy, as communication performed by political actors, forms of engagement by citizens, and the nature of political conflicts. New perspectives are developed on how political candidates, organizations, and parties optimize their behaviour within dissonant political environments. These disrupted online communication environments reshape public spheres and change citizen engagement in ways that amplify political conflicts and crises. Chapters also examine the role of data-driven campaigning and address how limited access to platform data affects our understanding of dissonant public spheres. A significant new contribution to the field of political communication, this volume will be a key resource for scholars and researchers of communication studies, politics, media studies and sociology. The chapters in this book were originally published in Political Communication.

This book covers various aspects of political communication in dissonant public spheres and their impact on democratic processes. It expands research on campaigning beyond assumptions of well-functioning political systems, to better understand how the erosion of institutional legitimacy and trust affects communication processes.The volume approaches the concept of dissonant public spheres from four divergent perspectives: as instrumental threats to democracy, as communication performed by political actors, forms of engagement by citizens, and the nature of political conflicts. New perspectives are developed on how political candidates, organizations, and parties optimize their behaviour within dissonant political environments. These disrupted online communication environments reshape public spheres and change citizen engagement in ways that amplify political conflicts and crises. Chapters also examine the role of data-driven campaigning and address how limited access to platform data affects our understanding of dissonant public spheres. A significant new contribution to the field of political communication, this volume will be a key resource for scholars and researchers of communication studies, politics, media studies and sociology. The chapters in this book were originally published in Political Communication.

Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries have faced significant political, economic, social, and technological transformations over the last four decades. Democratic processes, after relative stabilisation, have begun to tremble again around polarizing values, populist leaders, or nationalistic ideologies. Online communication, especially social media platforms, play a vital role in shaping how citizens interact with the state, political actors, media, and other citizens.This book focuses on some of the challenges democratic institutions in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries face in transforming and sustaining civil society and captures how the digital media environments mitigate or exacerbate those challenges. The chapters in this book focus on the role that online platforms play in shaping satisfaction with democracy in the CEE region, the interactions between journalists and political actors, the strategic media coverage of elections, affective polarisation and political antagonism, and discursive attempts to discourage young people from civic engagement. The first section of the book looks at CEE countries from a comparative perspective, and the second section examines specific case studies within different CEE countries such as Albania and Kosovo, Czechia and Hungary, Poland and Ukraine.This volume will be a key resource for scholars and researchers of Communication Studies, Politics, Media Studies, Sociology and Central and Eastern European studies. The chapters in this book were originally published in the Journal of Information, Technology & Politics.

Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries have faced significant political, economic, social, and technological transformations over the last four decades. Democratic processes, after relative stabilisation, have begun to tremble again around polarizing values, populist leaders, or nationalistic ideologies. Online communication, especially social media platforms, play a vital role in shaping how citizens interact with the state, political actors, media, and other citizens.This book focuses on some of the challenges democratic institutions in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries face in transforming and sustaining civil society and captures how the digital media environments mitigate or exacerbate those challenges. The chapters in this book focus on the role that online platforms play in shaping satisfaction with democracy in the CEE region, the interactions between journalists and political actors, the strategic media coverage of elections, affective polarisation and political antagonism, and discursive attempts to discourage young people from civic engagement. The first section of the book looks at CEE countries from a comparative perspective, and the second section examines specific case studies within different CEE countries such as Albania and Kosovo, Czechia and Hungary, Poland and Ukraine.This volume will be a key resource for scholars and researchers of Communication Studies, Politics, Media Studies, Sociology and Central and Eastern European studies. The chapters in this book were originally published in the Journal of Information, Technology & Politics.