What is it about?
This edited book examines how social media affects democracy and politics at the sub-national level. It focuses on local, regional, and state-level governments and political actors, rather than only national politics. The book brings together case studies from different countries to explore how social media is adopted and used by public institutions, local governments, mayors, political parties, and citizens. It addresses issues such as public engagement, transparency, accountability, participation, political communication, and election campaigning. Organized around three themes — drivers and barriers, social media for democracy, and social media in politics — the volume shows that social media has significant democratic potential, but this potential is not automatically realized. Its impact depends on institutional context, political strategy, administrative capacity, and how public actors actually use these platforms.
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Why is it important?
Most discussions of digital politics focus on national leaders, national elections, or central governments. This book shifts attention to the sub-national level, where many everyday interactions between citizens and public authorities take place. This matters because local governments and sub-national political actors are often closer to citizens and can play a crucial role in strengthening participation, transparency, accountability, and democratic responsiveness. Social media may help improve these relationships, but it can also be used mainly for one-way communication, political promotion, or symbolic visibility. The book therefore contributes to a more nuanced understanding of digital democracy. It shows that social media should not be treated as inherently democratic or transformative. Instead, its democratic value depends on how it is adopted, managed, and embedded in political and administrative practice.
Perspectives
This book was designed to bring the sub-national level into debates on social media, democracy, and politics. Its main message is that social media creates important opportunities for engagement and communication, but these opportunities require strategic, participatory, and institutionally grounded use.
İbrahim Hatipoğlu
Bursa Uludag University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Sub-National Democracy and Politics Through Social Media, January 2018, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-73386-9.
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