Digital democracy and political polarization

This Research Topic aims to advance theoretical and empirical scholarship on the impact of digital technologies on democracies and political polarization. It seeks to examine how political digitalization influences participation, deliberation, governance, political communication, and civic trust; assess the opportunities and risks associated with social media and AI-mediated political communication; and identify the conditions under which digital technologies can strengthen or weaken democratic culture, institutions, and processes. Contributions may address how disinformation and digital populism shape political attitudes, whether online environments facilitate meaningful democratic deliberation, and how citizens, institutions, and civil society respond to increasingly fragmented information ecosystems. The Research Topic also encourages comparative and interdisciplinary approaches that connect technological developments to broader debates in political theory, communication studies, and sociology. To gather further insights into political digitalization, digital democracy, and technology-driven polarization, this Research Topic welcomes qualitative, quantitative, mixed-methods, theoretical, and empirical contributions addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:• Political digitalization • Digital constitutionalism• New modes of political participation• AI-mediated political communication• Political trust• Comparative and single-case studies of political digitalization, digital governance, civic engagement, and political communication• Disinformation and affective polarization• Digital populism • Political impacts of platform design and media ecosystems• Digital ethnography Topic editors: Maria Ferreira, Veronica Dumitrascu Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/85356/digital-democracy-and-political-polarization