Over the last decade there has been a proliferation of academic studies investigating the impact of the internet on political participation. In relation to this topic to date research has produced contrasting evidence. Many scholars stress the positive influence of the internet on political participation and the ability of this medium to promote the participation of groups of citizens, such as young people, who are traditionally characterised by low levels of political engagement (Krueger 2002; Borge and Cardenal 2009). In contrast, other academics minimise the mobilising power of the internet (Nie and Erbring 2002; Nisbet and Scheufele 2004) or emphasise its tendency to reinforce existing participatory trends (Kenski and Stroud 2006; Wang 2007). Most of the studies contributing to this debate fail to distinguish among the various types of participatory activities, tend to overlook how different internet practices can affect political participation, and are nationally orientated, referring mainly to English-speaking countries. Similar criticisms can be also made in regards to investigations examining the impact of social networking websites on political participation. In the context of the Arab Spring, this type of enquiry has flourished (Schwarz 2011; Williamson 2011) contributing to the development of a sub-field characterised until last year by a relative lack of systematic research. This paper makes an argument for the need of cross-national comparative studies in political participation research, and advocates for a shift in the way political participation is conceptualised and operationalised in academia. In addition, the paper discusses how the above considerations informed the design of an innovative study examining the impact of Facebook on political participation in Italy and the United Kingdom.
