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Platform Party between Digital Activism and Hyper-Leadership: The Reshaping of the Public Sphere

Author

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  • Emiliana De Blasio

    (Department of Political Science, LUISS University, Italy)

  • Lorenzo Viviani

    (Department of Political Science, University of Pisa, Italy)

Abstract

The so-called crisis of representation has formed the theoretical framework of many studies on media and democracy of the past thirty years. Many researches have highlighted the crisis of legitimacy and credibility of the ‘traditional’ parties (Katz & Mair, 2018) and communication was considered, at the same time, one of the causes of acceleration towards post-representative politics (Keane, 2013) but also an indispensable tool for re-connecting citizens to politics. Various phenomena have developed within this framework: a) the birth of political aggregations as a result of mobilization in the digital ecosystem; b) the development of digital platforms for democratic participation; c) the birth of parties defined as ‘digital’ or ‘platform’; and d) the growing centrality of digital political activism, both as a phenomenon within the digital communicative ecosystem (also in the context of social media) and as a result of the transformation of social movements. This article studies the role of platform parties as a space for the emergence of authoritarian tendencies (hyper-leadership) but also as an organizational opportunity for the development of new forms of digital activism. In particular, the article presents a research on the use of digital platforms (and their political and organizational consequences) by political parties in Italy, France, and Spain. The study shows the relationships between the evolution of digital ecosystems and the way in which political organization is organised, also highlighting how the new forms of mobilization and aggregation have opened up different yet interconnected public spaces.

Suggested Citation

  • Emiliana De Blasio & Lorenzo Viviani, 2020. "Platform Party between Digital Activism and Hyper-Leadership: The Reshaping of the Public Sphere," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(4), pages 16-27.
    • Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v:8:y:2020:i:4:p:16-27
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Caramani, Daniele, 2017. "Will vs. Reason: The Populist and Technocratic Forms of Political Representation and Their Critique to Party Government," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 111(1), pages 54-67, February.
    2. Merkel, Wolfgang, 2004. "Embedded and defective democracies," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 11(5), pages 33-58.
    3. Emiliana De Blasio & Michele Sorice, 2018. "Populism between direct democracy and the technological myth," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(1), pages 1-11, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Berg, Sebastian & Hofmann, Jeanette, 2021. "Digital democracy," Internet Policy Review: Journal on Internet Regulation, Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG), Berlin, vol. 10(4), pages 1-23.
    2. Berg, Sebastian & Hofmann, Jeanette, 2021. "Digital democracy," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 10(4), pages 1-23.
    3. Emiliana De Blasio & Marianne Kneuer & Wolf Schünemann & Michele Sorice, 2020. "The Ongoing Transformation of the Digital Public Sphere: Basic Considerations on a Moving Target," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(4), pages 1-5.

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