Political Parties in Southern Europe: Digital Innovation and Mobilisation Capacity

Abstract

Over the past decade, digitalization has profoundly reshaped citizens’ engagement with politics, transforming channels of mobilization, patterns of information flow, and the structure of political competition. Southern Europe provides a particularly revealing context for examining these dynamics, as legacies of late democratization, economic vulnerability, and persistent distrust in political institutions intersect with the rise of both populist challengers and incumbents. This panel examines how these transformations affect democratic participation and party politics across the region. It seeks to identify the mechanisms linking online engagement and novel mobilization patterns to changes in party organization, competition, and representation. By integrating behavioral, attitudinal, and organizational perspectives, the panel advances a comparative understanding of how digital politics and mobilization are reshaping party politics in Southern Europe.

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