Political Communication Between Disruptive Technologies and Democratic Backsliding

Democracies around the world are under pressure from the convergence of technological innovation, growing information disorders, and the rise of political actors that work towards the erosion of democratic institutions and civil liberties. This section invites submissions that illuminate the role of political communication in these interacting processes. We welcome research across the full spectrum of political communication, including work that: 1. Technology, Platforms, and the Transformation of Communication ● Examines how emerging technologies, including generative AI, algorithmic curation, and evolving social media platforms, reshape political communication, participation, and public discourse. ● Investigates questions of authenticity, artificiality, and veracity, including synthetic content, machine-generated communication, deepfakes, and human–machine interaction. ● Analyzes how both established and extreme political actors adopt, adapt to, or strategically exploit new digital tools. 2. Information Disorders and Democratic Vulnerabilities ● Studies the emergence, spread, and impact of disinformation, influence operations, and networked propaganda, including cross-border or coordinated campaigns. ● Explores the mechanisms through which technological change and information disorders interact with affective polarization and contribute to democratic decline. ● Assesses micro- and macro-level consequences for citizen attitudes, emotions, behavior, news consumption and avoidance, institutional trust, and democratic accountability. 3. Media, Intermediaries, and Public Knowledge ● Analyzes the evolving roles of legacy media, journalism, and professional fact-checkers in shaping information integrity and public understanding. ● Investigates how science communicators, experts, and knowledge institutions navigate contested information environments and shifting public trust. ● Examines how media systems, platform governance, and regulatory environments condition the spread and correction of misinformation. 4. Political Actors, Strategies, and Democratic Resilience ● Explores how political parties, governments, and civil society organizations respond to domestic and international information challenges. ● Investigates how extremist actors leverage disruptive communication technologies, mobilize affective divisions, or exploit institutional vulnerabilities. ● Studies efforts to mitigate negative effects, including regulatory interventions, institutional reforms, media literacy initiatives, civic and journalistic innovation, and design-based or technological safeguards. We welcome theoretical, empirical, and methodological diversity, including experimental, survey, digital trace, computational, qualitative, mixed-methods, and comparative approaches. Proposals should clearly state the research questions, the theoretical argument, the methodological approach, and the contribution to the section theme.