Digitalisierung von Jugendpolitik: Chancen und Hindernisse von Digitalisierung für lokale demokratische Prozesse und Partizipation von jungen Menschen in Niederösterreich
Lead partner:
Universität für Weiterbildung Krems (Donau-Universität Krems)
Scientific management:
Edma Ajanovic
Additional participating institutions:
Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften St. Pölten GmbH
Research field:
Geistes-, Sozial- und Kulturwissenschaften
Funding tool: Basic research projects
Project-ID: FTI18-001
Project start: 01. November 2019
Project end: will follow
Runtime: 24 months / finished
Funding amount: € 196.800,00
Brief summary:
Understanding digital communication as potentially enhancing democratic processes, keeping in mind the digital divides in representation of political content as well as that online politics are not detached from the ‘material world’, our project seeks to analyse the online political participation of first-time voters during municipal elections in Lower Austria 2020. Our project is particularly interested in the question how social media communication is interlinked with offline media and citizen participation and what potential it bears to widen the public democratic sphere for young citizens. This research interest is operationalized in three empirical research areas:
- Digital lifeworlds and political participation of first-time voters
- Online communication of political party actors
- Communication of local mass media
We will analyse and compare the three areas with regard to their topics, frames (meaning making) and language styles. This will allow for conclusions on how online communication enhances participation in democratic processes, especially of young citizens, and which chances and obstacles it poses for widening the public sphere.