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Political Communication & Democracy – Universität Innsbruck

Political Communication & Democracy

Democracies face unique challenges in the 21st century, which are due in part to the increasing power and presence of digital platforms such as social media. Media and digital platforms are the spaces and places (public spheres) that influence and condition democratic decision-making processes. The role and significance of (digital) media and communication processes for political communication and the development of democracy is therefore becoming increasingly relevant. Against this background, we analyse the communication of and between political actors, media and digital platforms as well as citizens. We deal with strategic communication processes from the perspective of institutions and organisations, as well as with the influences and effects (of these) on citizens' attitudes or behaviour.

The research area "Political Communication & Democracy" focuses in particular on the following topics:

The field of campaigning deals intensively with the use of social media, especially those focussing on visual content such as Instagram and TikTok, by political actors and how this influences or changes (tried and tested) communication strategies and creates new ones. Central to this is how parties and politicians try to attract public attention through campaigns and mobilise the electorate through informative or persuasive communication (user engagement). The focus is also on two areas that are not new but are increasingly characterising election campaign practice and could almost be said to represent opposing campaign strategies. The targeted use of negative campaigning and dirty campaigning as well as political satire (humour research) by parties, politicians and the media and their influence on citizens' attitudes, behaviour and emotions. Through our participation in international research networks, country comparisons as well as long-term comparisons are of particular interest to us.

Participatory communication and deliberation, in the sense of inclusive, reasonable and reflective communication, can enable people to participate more comprehensively and competently in social and political life. Digitalisation in particular has led to a democratisation, but also a disruption of democracies. In addition to traditional media, there are now a large number of multipliers such as influencers on YouTube and TikTok who have a major influence on the decision-making and opinion-forming processes and therefore also on the political decision-making of their target groups. One focus in this subject area is on the quality of public political discourse as a normative maxim of democracies (including the legitimisation of decision-making processes). The quality of public communication by political actors, mass media and other multipliers as well as citizens is analysed.

We are also currently working on the development of a handbook for participatory communication, which will help Tyrolean municipalities to design, implement, improve and evaluate information, communication and participation processes at municipal level.

Members

Univ.-Prof.in Mag.a Dr.in Uta Rußmann

Ass.-Prof.in Dr Viorela Dan

Dr Franz Reiter, BA MA

Andreas M. Kraxberger, BA MA

Dr Natascha Zeitel-Bank

Current projects (selection)

  • Digital Election Campaigning Worldwide (DigiWorld) DigiWorld is an international scientific collaboration network that aims at cross-country comparisons of election campaign strategies in digital communication channels.
  • Campaigning for Strasbourg (CamforS)CamforS is a scientific collaboration network of European scientists comparing European countries with regard to how political actors use social media (with a special focus on Facebook) during European election campaigns.
  • LEADER project "Tirol participates: Participatory communication at municipal level" (Principal Investigators Uta Rußmann and Franz Reiter; funding € 70,433 by Regionalmanagement Innsbruck-Land, duration 05/2024 - 06/2025)

Current publications (selection)

  • Dan, V. (2025). Deepfakes as a Democratic Threat: Experimental Evidence Shows Noxious Effects That Are Reducible Through Journalistic Fact Checks. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612251317766
  • Russmann, U., Klinger, U., & Koc-Michalska, K. (2024). Personal, Private, Emotional? How Political Parties Use Personalisation Strategies on Facebook in the 2014 and 2019 EP Election Campaigns. Social Science Computer Review, 42(5), 1204-1222. https://doi. org/10.1177/08944393241254807
  • Reiter, F., & Matthes, J. (2024). On the Immoral Campaign Trail: Conceptualisation, Underlying Affective Processes, and Democratic Outcomes of Perceived Dirty Campaigning. American Behavioural Scientist, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/00027642241240335
  • Barclay, A., Dommett, K., & Russmann, U. (2024). Data Driven-Campaign Infrastructures in Europe: Evidence from Austria and the UK. Journal of Political Marketing, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/15377857.2024.2347833
  • Klinger, U., Koc-Michalska, K., & Russmann, U. (2023). Are campaigns getting uglier, and who is to blame? Negativity, dramatisation, and populism on Facebook in the 2014 and 2019 EP election campaigns. Political Communication, 40(3), 263-282. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2022.2133198
  • Haßler, J., Magin, M., & Russmann, U. (eds.) (2023). Special Issue "Social Media's Role in Political and Societal Mobilisation." Media and Communication, 11(3). https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/issue/view/358

  • Reiter, F., Heiss, R., & Matthes, J. (2023). Explaining Attitude-Consistent Exposure on Social Network Sites: The Role of Ideology, Political Involvement, and Network Characteristics. Social Science Computer Review, 41(4), 1207-1226. https://doi.org/10.1177/08944393211056224

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