Actualités et agenda
Nos formations
Présentation
This course does not require any specific background, except maybe some basic notions in political sociology.
The digitalisation of politics, i.e. the adaptation of political systems and processes to be operated with the use of computers and the internet, transcends the political landscape and leads us to reconceptualise core democratic concepts such as participation, representation, and public service in a new light. This course provides an introduction to these transformations. It covers (1) digital elections and digital political campaigns, (2) the digitalisation of main interactions between citizens and political elites, (3) digital activism, and (4) digital government. Students are encouraged to think critically about the role and workings of government and political actors in the digital era, conceptualize new ways in which the internet can deepen or challenge democracy, and understand the limitations of applying technology to government.
You have undoubtedly used the internet or digital technology to participate in some form of civic engagement. Perhaps you have used a social network site to express support or disagreement for a political candidate, or maybe you have subscribed to receive updates and news from a non-profit organization’s listserv or website. From your experience using the internet, as well as your knowledge of current events, you are likely to be well aware that politicians and political groups in Europe and throughout the globe leverage the internet as a critical tool for informing, engaging, and activating audiences.
This course will explore how the internet, new media and new forms of technology have changed the ways in which we participate in our political systems and, even more importantly, how democracy work. Internet and digital technologies are also increasingly used to conduct public service delivery and develop public policies (eg. cyber diplomacy). We will discuss the negative and positive externalities of such digital transformations. On the one hand, digital technologies support the vitality and expansion of open and decentralized networks that provide increased opportunities for humans to engage in new and creative forms of civic activities. On the other hand, they raise new challenges to democratic quality of contemporary democracies in terms, among other things, of transparency, security and privacy issues.
Course Schedule
1. INTRODUCTION: INTERNET AND DEMOCRACY 25/01
Lecture (LW 212)
Suggested readings:
Coleman, Stephen, et Deen Freelon. 2016. « Introduction: Conceptualizing Digital Politics ». In Handbook of Digital Politics, Stephen Coleman & Deen Freelon. Cheltenham, UK
2. INTERNET AND ELECTIONS 01/02
Lecture (LW 212)
Suggested readings:
Germann, M., & Serdült, U. (2017). Internet voting and turnout: Evidence from Switzerland. Electoral Studies, 47, 1-12.Alvarez Michael R., Hall Thad E., Electronic elections. The perils and promises of digital democracy, Princeton University Press, 2008
3. INTERNET, GENDER, AND POLITICS (1) 08/02
Lecture (LW 212)
Suggested readings:
Erikson, Josefina, Sandra Håkansson, and Cecilia Josefsson. "Three Dimensions of Gendered Online Abuse: Analyzing Swedish MPs’ Experiences of Social Media." Perspectives on Politics (2021): 1-17.
4. INTERNET, GENDER, AND POLITICS (2) 22/02
Lecture (LW 212)
Suggested readings:
Amy Antonio, David Tuffley, The Gender Digital Divide in Developing Countries, Future Internet, 2014, vol. 6, pp. 673-687.
5. EU DIGITAL POLICIES (1) 08/03
Lecture (LW 212)
Suggested readings:
Cortés-Cediel, M. E., Cantador, I., & Bolívar, M. P. R. (2021). Analyzing citizen participation and engagement in european smart cities. Social Science Computer Review, 39(4), 592-626.
6. EU DIGITAL POLICIES (2) (GUEST LECTURE BY KAI ZENNER, EP) 15/03
Lecture (LW 212)
Suggested readings:
Brandão, A. P., & Camisão, I. (2021). Playing the Market Card: The Commission's Strategy to Shape EU Cybersecurity Policy. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies.
7. DIGITAL POLITICAL CAMPAIGNING AND DIGITAL PARTIES
(GUEST LECTURE BY OSCAR BARBERA ARESTE,
UNIVERSITY OF VALENCIA) 22/03
Lecture (LW 212)
Suggested readings:
Bennett, W. L., Segerberg, A., & Knüpfer, C. B. (2018). The democratic interface: Technology, political organization, and diverging patterns of electoral representation. Information, Communication & Society, 21(11), 1655-1680.
8. INTERNET AND FALSE CLAIMS IN POLITICS 29/03
Lecture (LW 212)
Suggested readings:
Bucciol, A. (2018). False claims in politics: Evidence from the US. Research in Economics, 72(2), 196-210.
9. INTERNET, BIG DATA AND GOVERNANCE 05/04
Lecture (LW 212)
Suggested readings:
Höchtl, Johann, Peter Parycek, et Ralph Schöllhammer. 2016. « Big Data in the Policy Cycle: Policy Decision Making in the Digital Era ». Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce 26 (1-2): 147-69. https://doi.org/10.1080/10919392.2015.1125187.
Modalités
The course is taught through frontal lectures. Lectures take place once a week, and altogether there are 9 lectures of 2 hours each. Students are encouraged to participate and ask questions. Lectures are designed to outline the topic in general, highlight illustrative examples and discuss some salient points. They are meant to introduce to the topic at hand, to build the basis of informed discussion and exam answers. Students are expected to attend all the lectures.
Please note that all the course materials and suggested readings, plus the lectures PPTs presentations, will be available on I-Campus.
Ressources
 || Alvarez Michael R., Hall Thad E., Electronic elections. The perils and promises of digital democracy, Princeton University Press, 2008|| Barberà , O., Sandri, G., Correa, P., & RodrÃguez-Teruel, J. (2021). Digital Parties. The Challenges of Online Organisation and Participation. Cham: Springer.|| Bennett, W. L., Segerberg, A., & Knüpfer, C. B. (2018). The democratic interface: Technology, political organization, and diverging patterns of electoral representation. Information, Communication & Society, 21(11), 1655-1680.|| Brandão, A. P., & Camisão, I. (2021). Playing the Market Card: The Commission's Strategy to Shape EU Cybersecurity Policy. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies.|| Braun Binder, N., Driza, A., Krimmer, R., Serdlt, U., and Vinkel, P. (2018). Focus on E-Voting, ACE Electoral Knowledge Network.|| Cardenal, A. S. (2013). Why mobilize support online? The paradox of party behaviour online. Party Politics, 19(1), 83-103.|| Castells, M. (2011). The Rise of the Network Society: The Information Age: Economy, Society, and Culture. Hoboken: Wiley.|| Ceron, A. (2022). Elgar Encyclopedia of Technology and Politics. Edward Elgar Publishing.|| Chadwick Andrew, Howard Philip N. (eds.), Routledge Handbook of Internet Politics, Routledge, 2009.|| Coleman, S., and Freelon, D. (Eds.). (2015). Handbook of digital politics. Edward Elgar Publishing.|| Copeland, Daryl. (2013). « Digital Technology ». In The Oxford handbook of modern diplomacy, Oxford handbooks, éd. Andrew Fenton Cooper, Jorge Heine, et Ramesh Chandra Thakur. Oxford, U.K: Oxford University Press, 453‑72.|| Cortés-Cediel, M. E., Cantador, I., & BolÃvar, M. P. R. (2021). Analyzing citizen participation and engagement in european smart cities. Social Science Computer Review, 39(4), 592-626.|| Deseriis, M. (2020). Rethinking the digital democratic affordance and its impact on political representation: Toward a new framework. New Media & Society, 1461444820929678.|| Dunleavy, Patrick, et Helen Margetts. 2015. « Essentially Digital Governance ». In Conference Paper 111th Annual Meeting of the APSA. http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/64125/1/Essentially%20Digital%20Governance.pdf|| Freddy Fallon, Andy Williamson, Mark Pack, Gender and Digital Politics (2011), Digital Papers,2011, vol. 5.|| Garnett, H. A., & James, T. S. (2020). Cyber Elections in the Digital Age: Threats and Opportunities of Technology for Electoral Integrity. Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy.|| Gerbaudo, P. (2019). The digital party: Political organisation and online democracy. Pluto Press.|| Germann, M., & Serdült, U. (2017). Internet voting and turnout: Evidence from Switzerland. Electoral Studies, 47, 1-12.|| Gibson, R., and Ward, S. (2009). Parties in the digital age—a review article. Representation, 45(1), 87-100.|| Gibson, Rachel K. (2020) When the Nerds Go Marching in: How Digital Technology Moved from the Margins to the Mainstream of Political Campaigns. Oxford University Press, 2020.|| Giest, Sarah. 2017. « Big Data for Policymaking: Fad or Fasttrack? » Policy Sciences 50 (3): 367‑82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11077-017-9293-1.|| Hindman Matthew, The Myth of Digital Democracy, Princeton University Press, 2009.|| Höchtl, Johann, Peter Parycek, et Ralph Schöllhammer. 2016. « Big Data in the Policy Cycle: Policy Decision Making in the Digital Era ». Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce 26 (1‑2): 147‑69. https://doi.org/10.1080/10919392.2015.1125187.|| J. Flynn, Brendan Nyhan, Jason Reifler, The Nature and Origins of Misperceptions: Understanding False and Unsupported Beliefs About Politics, Advances in Political Psychology, Vol. 38, 2017, pp. 127-150.|| Jungherr, Andreas, Gonzalo Rivero, and Daniel Gayo-Avello. Retooling politics: How digital media are shaping democracy. Cambridge University Press, 2020.|| Karpf, David. Anal