Media, Elections and Democracy

The media had been dominated by traditional mass communication such as radio, television and the print. Today we are all conscious of living in the midst of a communications revolution. Over the past couple of decades there have been breathtaking advances in communications technologies and in the ways of applying them—a few short years ago no one could have foreseen the explosive growth of Facebook or Twitter. What is more, these kinds of innovations seem to be continuing at an accelerating pace. Developments in social media adoption and use have attained tremendous heights, especially within the past decade, as information and communication have been much emphasized. Not only has such development been keen in agriculture, rural development, economics, education, science and technology, but also in politics. From political discussions on traditional media, through electoral campaigns, to popular revolutions in democracy, social media has consumed political activity on the continent, and there seems not to be an avenue to evade this phenomenon.

Media, Elections and Democracy identify ways in which various forms of media exert influence on politics and democracy. The book discusses theoretical literature and real world cases on democracy and democratic transition in global perspective. The new technologies are also leading to changes in some aspects of the politics of democratic countries, notably political campaigning and fundraising. Above all, the new media are affecting the way in which public opinion is formed and transmitted. This book makes an attempt to use new media technology, particularly the internet, to improve participation in local democratic processes. Various aspects of democratic communication are examined, including information access, preference measurement, deliberation and group mobilization.

The world-wide contributors of this book discuss broad questions of media and politics, offer nuanced analyses of change in journalism, and undertake detailed examinations of the use of media in shaping political and social movements.