Partisanship and the New Media: The Effect of the Internet on the Stability of Political Attitudes

Abstract

Internet is transforming the media landscape and the way political information is flowing among citizens. On the one hand, the Net is multiplying to unlimited levels the amount and variety of information that can be accessed by citizens. On the other hand, Web 2.0 technologies and social networks are multiplying the possibilities of social interaction and promoting horizontal forms of political communication. This panel wants to know how use of the Internet is affecting the stability of political attitudes and electoral behaviour. In particular, this panel wants to know how Internet usage is affecting the one political attitude that is most responsible for the stability of the European electorates in the past last fifty years: partisanship. The aim of the panel is twofold. From a substantive perspective, the goal is to contribute to the debate as to how structural factors, such as changes in the media environment, are affecting partisanship and the stability of the European electorates in general. From a methodological perspective, the goal is to encourage methodologically well-designed and innovative studies that are able to identify causal effects between internet usage and political attitudes and behaviour related to party identification.

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