Democracy And Communication In The New Europe

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This volume focuses on the relationship between the media and European democracy, as important factors of EU legitimacy. The contributors show how the media play a crucial role in making European governance accountable, and how it can act as an intermediate link between citizens and their elected and unelected representatives. The book focuses on widespread levels of Euroscepticism and the contemporary European crisis. The authors present empirical studies which problematize the role of traditional media coverage on EU attitudes. Comparisons are also drawn between traditional and new media in their influence on Euroscepticism. Furthermore, the authors analyse the impact of the internet and social media as new arenas in which Eurosceptic claims and positions can be made visible, as well as being a medium used by political parties and populist movements which contest Europe and its politics and policies. Euroscepticism, Democracy and the Media will be of interest to students and scholars with an interest in European politics, political parties, interest groups, social movements and political sociology.

This book provides the most recent overview of media systems in Europe. It explores new political, economic and technological environments and the challenges they pose to democracies and informed citizens. It also examines the new illiberal environment that has quickly embraced certain European states and its impact on media systems, considering the sources and possible consequences of these challenges for media industries and media professionals. Part I examines the evolving role of public service media in a comparative study of Western, Southern and Central Europe, whilst Part II ventures into Europe’s periphery, where media continues to be utilised by the state in its quest for power. The book also provides an insight into the role of the European Union in preserving the independence and neutrality of public service media. It will be useful to students and researchers of political communication and international and comparative media, as well as democracy and populism.

Using a comparative approach, this book examines how political communication and the mass media have played an important role in the consolidation of democratic institutions.

This book analyses the relationship between the media and politics in new democracies in Europe and other parts of the world. It does so from both theoretical and empirical angles. How is power being mediated in new democracies? Can media function independently in the unstable and polarised political environment experienced after the fall of autocracy? Do major shifts in economic and ownership structures help or hinder the quality of the media? How much can new media laws alter old journalistic habits and political cultures? And how do new technologies impact the media and democracy? The book examines these questions, drawing on a vast set of data assembled by a large international project. Media and Politics in New Democracies focuses chiefly on new democracies in Central and Eastern Europe, but chapters analysing new democracies in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia are also included. These new democracies represent a variety of what sociologists call 'glocalism': homogenisation and heterogenisation coexist, revealing hybrid models and multiple modernities. It is local culture that assigns meaning to global and regional influences. 'Ideal' liberal models and best practices are being promoted and aspired to, but these models and practices are often being adopted in opaque ways generating results opposite to those intended. The book finds many new democracies to be fragile if not deficient, and tries to show what is really going on in these countries, how they compare to each other, and what they can learn from each other.

This book explores the digital transformations of democracy and democratic societies. It examines the various challenges posed by these transformations in the context of political practice and to theoreticians of democracy and political communication. The authors present studies from different countries, related to various effects of digitalization processes. Topics covered include, but are not limited to: Innovation in civil society research, new forms of civic participation, new dimensions of democratization and local governance processes, political changes and public participation, civic and political activities, political campaigning or other phenomenon driven by the implementation of information and communications technology (ICT) into politics. Therefore, the book is a must-read for all scholars and researchers of political science, practitioners, and policy-makers, interested in a better understanding of digital politics, digitalization processes, and democracy in general.

This open access book explores how digital tools and social media technologies can contribute to better participation and involvement of EU citizens in European politics. By analyzing selected representative e-participation projects at the local, national and European governmental levels, it identifies the preconditions, best practices and shortcomings of e-participation practices in connection with EU decision-making procedures and institutions. The book features case studies on parliamentary monitoring, e-voting practices, and e-publics, and offers recommendations for improving the integration of e-democracy in European politics and governance. Accordingly, it will appeal to scholars as well as practitioners interested in identifying suitable e-participation tools for European institutions and thus helps to reduce the EU’s current democratic deficit. This book is a continuation of the book “Electronic Democracy in Europe” published by Springer.