Politics and the Internet in Comparative Context

Paul G. Nixon is Principal Lecturer in Political Science and Head of Research at the Academy of European Studies and Communication Management at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands.Rajash Rawal is Principal Lecturer in Political Science at the Academy of European Studies and Communication Management at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands. Dan Mercea is Senior Lecturer in Politics and European studies at The Hague University, The Netherlands.

• 1. Taking stock: A Meta-Analysis of the Virtual Public Sphere in Communication Journals 2. The Internet and the Decline of Euro-American Democracy 3. The Semi-Sovereign Netizen: The Fifth Estate in China 4. New techniques, new mobilizations? French parties in the Web 2.0 era 5. Do ethos, ideology, country and electoral strength make a difference in cyberspace? Testing an explanatory model of parties’ websites 6. Why Fix It When It’s Not Broken? Continuity and Adaptation in Romanian Presidential E-campaigning 7. Online Party Politics: Studying the presence of some African political parties on the Internet 8. Extreme Right Organizations and Online Politics: A Comparative Analysis on Five Western Democracies 9. Ourselves Alone (but making connections): The social media strategies of Sinn Fein 10. City Hall 2.0? Italian Local Executive Officials’ Presence and Popularity on Web 2.0 Platforms 11. Making democracy work online? Interpreting the web presence of Italian regions 12. MEPs online: Understanding communication strategies for remote representatives 13. Unaffiliated Socialization and Social Media Recruitment: Reflections from Occupy the Netherlands