I'social Media, Parties, and Political Inequalities

How has social media transformed politics in Western democracies? This book examines this question by focusing on the influence of unique qualities of social media on the power balance between and within parties. The authors presents a general theory as well as an in-depth comparative case study of the Netherlands. They revisit the debate on whether technological innovations affect the power balance in a political system, and show how their introduction leads to equalization for some and normalization for others. In addition to national politics, Jacobs and Spierings investigates often-overlooked topics such as local/European politics and the impact on women and ethnic-minorities.

Kristof Jacobs is Assistant Professor of Comparative Politics at Radboud University, Netherlands. Previously, he worked in the political science department at University of Antwerp, Belgim. His research focuses on elections, technological innovations, political parties and democracy. He has published about these topics in Electoral Studies, West European Politics and Political Behavior.

Niels Spierings is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Radboud University, Netherlands and has held appointments at the London School of Economics and the University of Essex, UK, before. His specializations are in political and gender sociology and research methodology. He publishes on social media, political participation, populism, gender equality, Islam, and migration.