Internet & Democracy

Abstract

The progressive convergence of social spheres including politics, the economy, culture, education, and everyday user practices are mutually shaped by digital technologies. This process reinforces the need for imaginative research that cuts across diverse academic disciplines. The doctoral programme pursues and supports doctoral research  focusing on issues of democracy/ equality/ participation/ sustainability in the current and future digital network society (Internet) from a social scientific perspective, in particular from sociological, political, and communication angle.

The research programme of this Doctoral School is concerned with social, political, cultural, economic and policy issues arising from the Internet and related to the normative goal of democratic societies. It examines the dissemination and integration of new communication technologies into society and the consequences for democratic legitimacy, responsiveness, political representation, organizations and their communication, economic equity and social justice on the basis of interactions between technology (Internet/ICTs/Social Media), social structure, policy and regulation, communication strategies of organizations and elites, everyday life, economic markets and their combined transformation power.
Research groups (doctoral students) from different disciplines in social science (e. g., Sociology, Political Sciences, Communication Science, History) at the University of Salzburg actively contribute to, and collaborate within the Doctoral Programme, which focuses on issues and themes regarding political representation, democratic legitimacy, equity, participation, citizenship, empowerment, political responsiveness, organizational communication and good government in the digital age.