Social Media, Parties, and Political Inequalities [Hardcover]

This book examines how social media have transformed politics in established democracies. Specifically, the authors examine the influence of the unique qualities of social media on the power balance between and within parties. They present a general theory as well as an in-depth case study of the Netherlands and compare it to the US and European democracies. The authors show how and why social media's introduction leads to equalization for some and normalization for others. Additional to national politics, Jacobs and Spierings investigate often-overlooked topics such as local and European politics and the impact on women and ethnic minorities.

How have social media transformed politics in Western democracies? This book examines this question focusing on the power balance between and within parties in the Netherlands from a comparative perspective. Jacobs and Spierings also investigates topics such as local/European politics and the impact on women and ethnic-minorities.

PART I: BACKGROUND
1. Introduction
2. Theorizing Social Media, Parties and Political Inequalities
3. Social Media in Politics: The Netherlands from a Comparative Perspective
PART II: CHANGES IN THE POWER BALANCE
4. Inter-Party Relations: David versus Goliath
5. Intra-Party Politics: David versus Nabal and Abigail
6. Social Media go Glocal: The Local and European Arenas
PART III: THE TRANSFORMATIVE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA
7. The Electoral Impact of Social Media
8. Conclusion

'Jacobs and Spierings are the first ones to provide a comprehensive account of the role social media play in politics. With their multi-method, comparative approach they debunk the common wisdom of massive social media effects, but also show in a nuanced way when and how these media actually matter. The book is a must-read for everyone wanting to understand how politics has changed due tols\