[Air-L] new book - Social Media and Democracy

[Dan Mercea]

Dear All,

This might be of interest to you. Together with Brian Loader we are 
delighted to announce the publication of our edited volume ‘Social Media 
and Democracy: Innovations in Participatory Politics’ (Routledge, 
http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415683708/?utm_campaign=JAN-POL-smdem&utm_source=adestra&utm_medium=email). 
Please see below for a short abstract and the table of contents.

Best wishes,
Dan

Dan Mercea
Senior Lecturer
The Hague University of Applied Sciences


Abstract

This book critically investigates the complex interaction between social 
media and contemporary democratic politics, and provides a grounded 
analysis of the emerging importance of Social media in civic engagement.

Social media applications such as /Facebook/, /Twitter/, and /YouTube/, 
have increasingly been adopted by politicians, political activists and 
social movements as a means to engage, organize and communicate with 
citizens worldwide. Drawing on Obama’s Presidential campaign, opposition 
and protests in the Arab states, and the mobilization of support for 
campaigns against tuition fee increases and the /UK Uncut/ 
demonstrations, this book presents evidence-based research and analysis. 
Renowned international scholars examine the salience of the network as a 
metaphor for understanding our social world, but also the centrality of 
the Internet in civic and political networks. Whilst acknowledging the 
power of social media, the contributors question the claim it is a 
utopian tool of democracy, and suggests a cautious approach to 
facilitate more participative democracy is necessary.

Providing the most up-to-date analysis of social media, citizenship and 
democracy, Social /Media and Democracy/ will be of strong interest to 
students and scholars of Political Science, Social Policy, Sociology, 
Communication Studies, Computing and Information and Communications 
Technologies.

Contents

1. Introduction: Networking democracy? Social media innovations in 
participatory politics /BRIAN D. LOADER and DAN MERCEA/ *Part 1: Social 
Movements: Pushing the Boundaries of Digital Political Participation* 2. 
Digital Media and the Personalization of Collective Action: Social 
Technology and the Organization of Protests Against the Global Economic 
Crisis /W. LANCE BENNETT and ALEXANDRA SEGERBERG / 3. Communication in 
Movement: social movements as agents of participatory democracy 
/DONATELLA DELLA PORTA/ *Part 2: Participation Dynamics: Intersections 
Between Social and Traditional Media* 4. Poverty in the News: A Framing 
Analysis of Coverage in Canada and the United Kingdom /JOANNA REDDEN/ 5. 
The News Media as Networked Political Actors: How Italian Media are 
Reclaiming Political Ground Political Ground by Harnessing Online 
Participation /CRISTIAN VACCARI/ 6. Trust, Confidence, Credibility: 
Citizen Responses on Twitter to Opinion Polls During the 2010 UK General 
Election /NICK ANSTEAD, BEN O’LOUGHLIN, LAWRENCE AMPOFO / 7. What the 
Hashtag? A Content Analysis of Canadian Politics on Twitter /TAMARA 
SMALL/ *Part 3: Digital Political Participation in Stasis or Flux?* 8. 
The Political Competence of Internet Participants- Evidence from Finland 
/HENRIK SERUP CHRISTENSEN and ÅSA BENGTSSON/ 9. Reaching Citizens 
Online: How Youth Organizations are Evolving their Web Presence /JANELLE 
WARD/ 10. Online Youth Civic Attitudes and the Limits of Civic 
Consumerism: the Emerging Challenge to the Internet’s Democratic 
Potential /ROMAN GERODIMOS/ 11. Constructing Australian Youth Online: 
Empowered but Dutiful Citizens? /ARIADNE VROMEN/ 12. Online 
Participation: New Forms of Civic and Political Engagement or Just New 
Opportunities for Networked Individualism /GIOVANNA MASCHERONI/ 13. How 
the Internet is Giving Birth (to) a New Social Order /JODI H. COHEN & 
JENNIFER M. RAYMOND/

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