Do the affordances of social media facilitate political participation and if so, for what types of citizens and in what contexts? Drawing on original surveys from nine diverse Western democracies, Vaccari and Valeriani provide theory driven and empirically supported answers to these questions. Their findings are important, compelling, and reason for hope.
Cristian Vaccari is Professor of Political Communication and Co-Director of the Centre for Research in Communication and Culture at Loughborough University. He is the Editor-in-Chief of The International Journal of Press/Politics and a past Chair of the Information Technology & Politics section of the American Political Science Association. He is also a rapporteur of the Committee of Experts on Freedom of Expression and Digital Technologies of the Council of Europe. He studies political communication by elites and citizens in comparative perspective, with a particular focus on digital and social media.
Augusto Valeriani is Associate Professor in Sociology of Culture and Communication at the Political and Social Sciences Department of the University of Bologna and Director of the Master Program in Digital Marketing and Communication at Bologna Business School (BBS). His research focuses on political communication, digital media, and journalism studies. He has authored articles
published in Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication; New Media and Society; International Journal of Press/Politics; Information, Communication and Society; Current Sociology; European Journal of Communication; Middle East Journal of Culture and Communication; and Sage Open.