Introduction to A Research Agenda for Digital Politics

Abstract

Many of the big questions concerning contemporary societies are about digital politics. In this book, a number of freshly minted agendas are put forward for research that could shed light on such questions as the following: Will the Internet and related digital media bring democracy to the world, or ‘kill’ democracy (Bartlett, 2018)? Are digital media reconfiguring access to information and people in ways that will empower citizens? Will the technologies of search and social media enable the public to be better informed about a wider range of issues, or will they be trapped in filter bubbles and echo chambers? Have digital media undermined mediating institutions, such as the quality press, in ways that are fostering nationalist and populist sentiments? Are social media and distributed intelligence leading to the ‘death of expertise’ (Nichols, 2017)? Will individuals be able to protect their privacy online, or will their personal data be mined by the big tech companies (Zuboff, 2019)? Will the Internet platforms centralize more power in the big tech giants, media and governments, while undermining the promise of a distributed network of individual Internet users, such as by limiting their freedom and choice (Citton, 2019)?