Von Nostitz, F., Borucki, I. & Barberà, O. (2024) Editorial: Digital policies, rules and practice on political organisations and their digital ecosystem. Front. Polit. Sci. 6:1360136.
With the surge in the use of the internet and social media, political organizations
like political parties, trade unions, Civil Society Organizations and governmental entities
are increasingly digitalizing their decision-making procedures and interacting online (e.g.,
Barberà et al., 2021; Gilardi, 2022). They now leverage social media to inform about public
policy decisions, conduct campaigns, engage with supporters, and manage their operations.
The expectation is that these digital tools will enable these intermediaries to connect with
both existing and new supporters at a lower cost, deliver tailored messages, and lower the
hurdles for political participation, especially within parties (Jungherr et al., 2020).
Despite the increasing reliance of political parties on online platforms and tools, there
is a lack of research on the existing and appropriate regulation of their online activities.
Scandals like the Cambridge Analytica data breach or the M5S internal party platform’s
privacy and democratic issues highlight the urgent need for regulations (Heawood, 2018).
Political parties should aim to use online tools to enhance democracy and empower
people to engage and participate with politics, not to erode trust and membership in these
intermediary organizations. […]
Cite this article
Von Nostitz, F., Borucki, I. & Barberà, O. (2024) Editorial: Digital policies, rules and practice on political organisations and their digital ecosystem. Front. Polit. Sci. 6:1360136. doi: 10.3389/fpos.2024.1360136
